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FCG International Lifetime Achievement 2008: FUNDACIÓN VICENTE FERRER
“As an example of the perfect way to face the problem of poverty beyond politics and macro-economic policy.
“The question of immigration and the drama of refugees is, and will be, the greatest problem of the 21st century and the Vicente Ferrer Foundation shows that individuals can help alleviate this drama.
“The Vicente Ferrer Foundation offers real stability and solidarity where horror exists and -through love, work and sacrifice- contributes to the change of civilization that we are witnessing.”
According to the Jury for the FCG International Award for a Lifetime Achievement that met in Valladolid, Spain (July 11th, 2008), chaired by: Mr. Ricardo Díez Hochleitner, President of Honor of the Club of Rome; and made up by the following members: Mr. Ángel Expósito Mora, Editor de ABC Newspaper; Mr. Julio Fermoso García, President of Caja Duero Bank; Mr. Francisco Javier León de la Riva, Mayor of Valladolid; Professor Sami NAÏR, Winner of the FCG International Award for A Lifetime Achievement 2006 and Mr. Santos Villanueva Valentín-Gamazo, Secretary-General of the Department of the Presidency of the Junta de Castilla y León [Castilla Leon Regional Government].
FUNDACIÓN VICENTE FERRER - Biography
What is the Vicente Ferrer Foundation?
The Vicente Ferrer Foundation is a Developmental NGO (non-governmental organization) committed to the transformation of one of the poorest and most-needed areas of India, Anantapur. A pioneer in integral development in that country, it is a humanist organization based on the philosophy of action that aims to improve the living conditions among the poorest and most excluded communities of the planet, the dalits or the untouchables, the tribal groups and backward castes.
Vicente Ferrer has been working with the most disadvantaged populations for almost 60 years. His way of understanding development has led to the creation of an exemplary model in the framework of International Cooperation. Through his way of thinking, Vicente Ferrer has mobilized thousands of people in the fight to eradicate social inequalities.
This organization firmly believes in people, in their ability to act and in the possibility of change. Indians and Spaniards are the major figures in the economic, social and cultural development that is taking place in the area. Without the effort and commitment of both groups, change would not be possible. Together, day by day, we manage to transform society into humanity.
The Vicente Ferrer Foundation in Spain
In 1996 the Vicente Ferrer Foundation was set up in Spain to offer specific support to the RDT (Rural Development Trust) and WDT (Women Development Trust) in India, guaranteeing the independent functioning and continuity of the work being undertaken as well as raising awareness among the Spanish population of the possibility of transforming the area of Anantapur.
Registered in the Ministry of Work and Social Affairs, Deputy General Directorate of Foundations, with registration number 08/0315, it is classified as a Foundation for charitable assistance by Ministerial Order of 18th March 1997. Its Tax Registration number is: G-09326745.
The Foundation is characterized by its own way of working, through the use of an expanded network of representatives and delegations in different regions in Spain and through its own committed, enthusiastic and serious management.
What do we do?
Our work methodology is based on the active participation of the whole community in all of its diverse areas. In this way, those who received the aid are in fact the real managers and executors of the projects undertaken and are therefore those mainly involved in them.
The Foundation works to consolidate communities capable of supporting and encouraging one another, thanks to a dynamic and creative organization that makes every effort to participate in all development goals. Furthermore, the area in which we work has been growing and more and more people have been benefiting from this project.
Areas of Work
Initiating a change that offers long-term solutions that contribute to eradicating poverty requires work in the following areas:
- Housing: The construction of houses is one of the priority areas of action of the Foundation. In the communities where it works, due to the lack of economic resources and because of their marginal situation, most of the population lives in precarious conditions in shacks.
- Health Care: The objective of the work undertaken in the area of health care is to improve the life-expectancy and quality of life of the population of Anantapur through disease eradication, health education and the building of infrastructure.
- Education: The educational field is one which receives special emphasis since access to education is the cornerstone of community development.
- Disabled People: As a consequence of the harsh conditions of life for the rural populations, the rate of disabled people is especially high in Anantapur.
- Women: The development project for women was set up in 1982 to improve the traditional marginal situation in which Indian women live.
- Ecology: The first project the Foundation developed in Anantapur was an ecological one.
- Social Stability Fund: The Social Stability Fund is aimed at improving the living conditions of the dalits (sometimes called Untouchables in the Indian caste system, people who according to traditional Indian society are regarded as low caste), offering them an annual income that avoids disaster in periods of drought, unemployment, illness or any other unforeseen affliction.
- Fair Trade: The Anantapur workshops are born of our commitment towards the most disadvantaged populations of India: the Untouchables, women and the disabled.