The Diplomat
Fundación MAPFRE and the Fundación ONCE for Solidarity with the Blind in Latin America (FOAL) have signed a collaboration agreement to join forces in favor of the labor inclusion of visually impaired people in Latin America.
The agreement, signed by the CEO of Fundación MAPFRE, Julio Domingo Souto, and the president of FOAL, Alberto Durán, aims to promote the training and labor inclusion of blind people in the region through 86 scholarships and the organization and implementation of eleven training courses of 300 hours each in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Dominican Republic and Uruguay.
As reported by the two foundations in a joint press release, the project aims to benefit more than 1,500 visually impaired people in Latin America and will facilitate work with at least five companies and public bodies per country, an average of ten people per organization, to raise awareness of the possibilities of labor inclusion for people with disabilities.
In addition, this agreement will involve Fundación MAPFRE volunteers to promote spaces for knowledge exchange with visually impaired people on various topics related to employment (preparation of professional resumes, job interviews, communication and leadership skills, etc.). FOAL volunteers, experts in various fields of visual impairment, will be available to enrich the dialogue and in turn train Fundación MAPFRE volunteers in inclusive culture and disability.
FOAL will include this project within its ÁGORA program, which aims to provide blind and severely visually impaired people with job orientation, access to professional and continuous training, help in finding, obtaining and maintaining employment. All this so that they have the opportunity of a future life with a freely chosen or accepted job, either in the public or private sector, or through self-employment or cooperatives. For its part, Fundación MAPFRE, through its extraordinary COVID aid fund, will finance the project so that FOAL can carry out all the necessary actions included in this agreement.