the Spanish Red Cross
It will be three years this November since the Prestige oil tanker sank in the rough seas along Galicia’s Atlantic coastline. The oil spill and its environmental consequences seriously damaged the weak socio-economic fabric of the coastal communities in this north-western corner of Spain.
A few weeks after the tragedy, the Spanish Red Cross office in Galicia, within its actions for the social insertion of the most disadvantaged groups, started to work on mitigating the oil spill’s effects among the population, developing a project for those groups who were most affected, whether directly - such as the unemployed, immigrants, or unlicensed fishermen - or indirectly, such as children and youths, victims of social, economic and family breakdown.
The plan also aimed to work with women in the area, to encourage their active participation in society and their integration into the labour market, as well as to implement measures to ensure appropriate care of the elderly.
It was in this context that Project SINGRA, from the Spanish term singradura (a nautical day), was set up in October 2003, thanks to financial support from the Galician corporate group Inditex, the parent company of such brand retailers as Zara, Massimo Dutti and Bershka. As part of its Social Corporate Responsibility activities, Inditex provided four million euros to
this four-year project.
The project’s coordination office is located in the city of La Coruña, and it acts directly in the Galician districts of Bergantiños, Soneira, Fisterra, O Barbanza, and O Morrazo.
Through this project, the Spanish Red Cross has implemented a novel approach involving working in the field of local development, fostering community development in these five districts and strengthening the Red Cross’s own network of assemblies and volunteers.
After the first few months of working with the local authorities, civic associations and other social actors in each area, the technical teams initiated some activities for improving social conditions, especially job training and a system of support to people who found finding a job difficult.
The results have been very positive, according to project coordinator Enrique Castro: “At the end of 2004, 22 professional training courses had already been carried out, with the participation of 312 students; and 186 people were brought closer to the working world. It is a team effort, which is why working in a network is one of the bases of this project.”
In 2004, 701 people visited the SINGRA project offices in search of information, advice and support in looking for work. It was then decided to go a step further and provide them with both technical and personal skills training, in order to improve their employment prospects.
“We set up programmes, including one in cooperation with Inditex, to teach students on the Professional Training course how to analyse the economic environment, create business plans and, once they are ready, to take them further, providing them with support every step of the way,” Castro explains.
This enabled the creation of 11 new undertakings in that time, including a school for children, a sculpture company, various IT companies and a forest engineering consultancy firm. But there is a long way to go and the teams are trying to foster a culture of entrepreneurship so as to encourage as many people as possible to opt for self-employment as a solution.
And so it was that the Red Cross SINGRA Project helped Jontxu Argibay and José Andrés Gude, two young sculptors from the small fishing town of Aguiño, to bring their “Arteleira” workshop to light.
“We are a company now, whereas we used to be two youths who found it very difficult to make a living doing what we loved. SINGRA not only helped us at the beginning, but continues to help us, providing ideas and advice. All in all, it is important - for us and, I assume, for many other young people as well - that this type of help exists,” Jontxu says.
Since the districts in which SINGRA is implemented are coastal and rural, efforts are also being made to improve job prospects in sea-related activities. Of particular importance have been a number of training projects and other actions developed with associations of fisherwomen and women net menders.
Another highlight is a tourism promotion project developed with fishing guilds in Lira and Laxe: a tourist itinerary of the port and informative notice boards are being produced, alongside an educational programme for schoolchildren.
The Red Cross teams recognise that many young people are looking beyond Galicia or Spain for their future, a trend exacerbated by the deterioration of the social network. As Enrique Castro states: “We are working to win back young people’s confidence in the substantial economic and socio-cultural potential of their birthplace, and keep them from making the tough decision of emigrating.”
“That is why we want to promote the area’s environmental richness, among school children already, and create jobs in ecological tourism, such as in Ézaro (Soneira), which offers a view of the unique mouth to the Atlantic Ocean,” he adds.
To help curb this phenomenon, the SINGRA Project devotes part of its resources to the creation of infrastructures available to associations and entities in the area, with the aim of improving social cohesion and strengthening local networks.
In the area of education, there is close cooperation with school centres and parents’ associations in the various municipalities, with the aim of promoting healthy habits among students and alternative leisure activities for them and for families.
Thus, with the cooperation of Red Cross volunteers, programmes to prevent of violent behaviour among youths, as well as cultural, ecological and play camps for children, and health classes are being developed, as well as programmes for volunteers and to improve social contact for the elderly are being promoted.
For more information, see: www.proyectosingra.org.