SPAIN: New socio-sports school to open in Poland
Real Madrid Foundation launches new socio-sports school at Don Bosco Elk in Poland
SPAIN
(MissionNewswire) Salesian Missions Madrid in Spain, with the Salesian St. Stanislaus Kostka Province in Warsaw and Don Bosco Ełk, both in Poland, signed a collaboration agreement with Ciudad Real Madrid to establish a new Real Madrid Foundation socio-sports school. The school will help more than 100 at-risk youth, many of whom are refugees who have escaped from the conflict in Ukraine.
The Don Bosco Ełk socio-sports school will be the 21st project between Salesian Missions Madrid and the Real Madrid Foundation over the last 13 years. The first socio-sports school began operating in June 2010 with a socio-sports school in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In 2012, social-sports schools opened in Portugal. Today, the schools train more than 4,500 youth every year in 15 countries on three continents.
Both the Real Madrid Foundation and the Salesians are aware that sports are important for social integration and the promotion of values like teamwork, communication, respect and team spirit. The social-sports schools are housed in Salesian schools. As part of the Real Madrid Foundation’s “They play, we educate” program, participants receive nutrition, family and psychological support, regular health checkups, the opportunity to participate in social and educational workshops, gymnastics, crafts, reading, and citizenship activities. Training sessions on topics such as health, hygiene, values, and the prevention of alcohol, tobacco, and drug abuse are also provided.
At the formal signing ceremony for the agreement, Father Luis Manuel Moral, director of Salesian Missions Madrid, said, “We are convinced that sport has a special importance in the educational development of children.”
Father Tadeusz Jarecki, superior of Salesian Polish province, expressed his gratitude for this project. “We will provide Ukrainian young people with the opportunity to integrate with their peers in a safe environment for their development, physical activity and fun.”
The Real Madrid Foundation’s Training Department has already provided the first onsite training in Poland for 14 coaches and socio-educational activity leaders. Youth will be able to practice soccer and basketball in sports facilities built in 2019.
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Salesian Missions – Spain
