The Miranda Foundation has awarded the Barakaldo Solidarity Award, this year in its 13th edition, to the Ireki Association for its work of social interest. Among its various social initiatives, which it has been promoting for many years, is the accompaniment of elderly people in the residence that the Foundation manages in Barakaldo by students from the school.
IREKIElkartasunaren Aldeko Gazteak - Jóvenes por la Solidaridad -, is a non-profit youth association for social promotion and solidarity of social interest. It was founded 24 years ago and its purpose is twofold: on the one hand, to carry out activities in favour of disadvantaged social groups; and on the other hand, to work to spread a greater awareness of solidarity among young people. IREKI collaborates with associations, organisations, institutions and other groups already existing in Bizkaia, providing the support of young volunteers to assistance projects promoted by other institutions and establishing cooperation initiatives, always in agreement with the management and experts working on these activities.
In recent years the school solidarity activitycoordinated by Ireki, consisted of weekly visits in small groups to this residence (4th ESO), to the dining room of the Little Sisters of the Poor (1st ESO), the Sacred Heart Charity Institution in Artxanda (2nd ESO), the canteen of the Rafaela María Occupational Centre in Zorrotza (3rd ESO), the Aragoiti Occupational Centre for persons with disabilities (1st and 2nd BACH) and the Sacred Heart Municipal Residence in Aiboa are the places where Gaztelueta students go on a regular course in the Solidarity projects.
The president of Ireki, Juan Carlos Luco, received the award from the president of the foundation, Jokin Perea, in the gardens near the residence, and underlined the exemplary value of the initiative of the young people who have accompanied the elderly users of the centre on different occasions over the years.
Although the pandemic has hampered the development of all kinds of activities in different areas, the work of the association has not stopped.. "The coronavirus locks you in and makes you individualised, unable to socialise. Many young people see it simply as an impediment to doing fun things, but we have to make them aware of the risk situation in which older people find themselves. We want the people we work with to become leaders of solidarity," he summarised.
The event, which was attended by a very limited number of people, was also attended by the head of Ireki, Enrique Cuestathe headmaster of Gaztelueta school, Imanol GoyarrolaThe development director of the same centre, Santiago Zayasand the second vice-president of the Miranda Foundation, Alberto Echevarría.
