Fundación MAPFRE carries out various initiatives in Uruguay to mitigate the impact of Covid-19

Employability, training and enterprise

Fundación MAPFRE will contribute to the economic recovery of people in vulnerable situations, paying particular attention to women, who have the worst employment figures, the lowest wages and, in many cases, no income to feed their families.

Through the Moldeando el Barrio (Shaping the Neighborhood) project, training workshops will be given to young people, women and older adults to help them access the labor market.

In collaboration with the Instituto de Capacitaciones Orientadas a Población Objetivo (ICOPO — Institute for Training for Target Groups), 25 women will be provided with training to help insert or reinsert them into the labor market amid the current backdrop of the pandemic.

In addition, a project will be launched with “female heads of household” in collaboration with the Obra Social San Martin Association, as part of a self-sustainability initiative.

To this end, the following projects will be carried out: an employability and self-esteem strengthening workshop with a specialist; promotion of family vegetable gardens, carried out by the Obra Social team and an agricultural technician; a workshop on canned products (sweets, vegetables, etc.) with the aim of forming a mini-enterprise.

Social inclusion and labor integration of people with disabilities 

Integrating people with any form of disability into the labor environment is another of the objectives that Fundación MAPFRE has established for 2021. Many people with disabilities, who are among the most affected by the pandemic in Latin America, live in places where there are hardly any social programs to help them.

In Uruguay, in collaboration with the FOAL Foundation, the company will provide a three-month training course for the visually impaired, offer eight internship scholarships in local companies to contribute to their integration into the labor market and will adapt job positions for those interns.

Furthermore, we will support the Mariposas Civil Association to contribute to the all-round development of children, adolescents, young people and adults with disabilities, implementing initiatives for their educational, social and community integration.

Meanwhile, the following workshops will be held in the Municipality of Young: vegetable garden and nursery, cooking and baking. These courses will be held at the Centro Esperanza Young, a community center which collaborates with INDA (Uruguay’s National Food Institute), part of the Uruguayan Ministry of Social Development, and with BPS (Banco de Previsión Social).

Acquisition of mobile ICUs

Fundación MAPFRE has acquired two ambulances, which serve as intensive care units (mobile ICUs) in the parts of Uruguay that do not have ICUs in health care centers. This is of great importance in providing healthcare to the population, in view of the large increase in the number of COVID-19 infections.

This initiative is being carried out in collaboration with ASSE, the Uruguayan State Health Services Administration.

Antonio Huertas: “No one can stand in the way of solidarity”

“We hope things will change and for the better. No pandemic is going to stop us from keeping our commitment to social progress,” recently stressed Antonio Huertas, President of Fundación MAPFRE, who referred to this extraordinary provision of 45 million euros over two years as a “plan aimed at saving as many lives as possible and protecting the most vulnerable in society and those fighting coronavirus on the front line.” He also noted that the Foundation, which in 2020 suffered its “greatest challenge” since being established 45 years ago, is also supporting research and helping prevent the social consequences of the virus from increasing the effect of poverty and inequality, thanks to the support of its volunteers, who are again helping them in this endeavor. “When it comes to solidarity, once the ball gets rolling, there’s no stopping it,” he said.