An award which recognizes the work of all the Ferrovial volunteers that travel and offer local communities their professional skills to develop projects for potable water in vulnerable areas.
The volunteer program Social Infrastructure turned out to be the winner in the category for Best Initiative in Corporate Volunteering at the first ‘Telefónica Foundation Awards for Volunteering.’ These awards, held last week at the Telefónica Foundation, aim to recognize the best volunteer initiatives in Spain and their contribution to society.
Cristina Moral, RC manager, attended the event, and she received the award from César Alierta, president of the Telefónica Foundation and the jury forema.
“This award is for all of our volunteers who travel and offer local communities their professional skills to develop projects for potable water in vulnerable areas.”
Award recipients also received a €5,000 prize to invest in their projects. Specifically, Ferrovial is going to make a donation to the first Maji ni Uhai (Water is Life) water project, which was carried out from 2008 to 2010 with the AMREF organization, which provides potable water and sanitary infrastructure to 51,000 people in the Mara region, in the Serengeti district of Tanzania. The European Commission recognized the project with the European Award for International Cooperation for sustainable development.
Social Infrastructure
The intent of the Social Infrastructure program is to improve and expand access to water and sanitation in vulnerable communities in Africa and Latin America, providing funds and technical support through corporate volunteering. In the 10 years that the program has been running, during which 100 volunteers from the company have participated, 25 projects have been completed in Africa and Latin America in collaboration with NGOD and local governments, projects that have managed to change the lives of 225,000 beneficiaries.
“At Ferrovial, we choose the NGOs to work with. Volunteers put their relevant experience, knowledge of the community, and we provide finance, specialists, training for individuals, and technical and technological assistance,” explains Cristina Moral, RSC manager at Ferrovial.
339 volunteer proposals
At this first ‘Telefónica Foundation Awards for Volunteering,’ a total of 339 proposals all across Spain were presented. During the gala, the 5 winners were unveiled in the different categories: communication, the educational field, a social entity, corporate volunteering, and inspirational volunteering, with finalists and several members of the jury in attendance.
Some members of the jury were also in attendance at the awards ceremony, such as Anne Igartiburu, television presenter; Teresa Perales, paralympic swimmer and ambassador for the Telefónica Foundation; Luciano Poyato, president of the Volunteering Platform in Spain and president of the Third Sector Platform; and Vicente del Bosque, former national soccer selector in Spain.. In addition, César Alierta, president of the Telefónica Foundation and jury foreman, and José María Sanz-Magallón, general director of the Telefónica Foundation and jury secretary, were also present.
