50 years of the BBVA Foundation: when business commitment and social responsibility yield results

Knowing firsthand the impact that Leer es Estar Adelante, a program of the BBVA Foundation Created to boost reading comprehension in children between the ages of 8 and 12, it is inspiring. For Nelson Alvarado, director of the organization, it was also confirmation of the vital role that the foundation has played for 50 years. A specific case of the transformation that encourages education means is the experience lived by Luciana Tejada. At the age of 10, her school in San Juan de Lurigancho was part of this program and over time she replicated what she learned in her community using the same book that helped her love reading. It was thus that 60 children from the evangelical church to which she belongs were favored with the techniques that promote the development of literacy skills. “During the pandemic we had the opportunity to identify those who had been part of the program and one of them was Luciana. She was very grateful for what she learned and what she was able to share with others. Today, she is a nurse and was one of the people who was in the first line of defense during the Covid”related Alvarado excited.

“Despite all the problems and disasters, we have continued working for the education and culture of children when, in crisis situations, the first thing that is cut off is support for these sectors. That is what I appreciate the most, it is one of our most important lessons. valuable and something of which we feel very proud”

Nelson Alvarado / director of the BBVA Foundation On the main agenda of the institution in difficult times.

At that same time, it was decided to digitize the books of Leer es Estar Adelante and make them available to teachers from the Ministry of Education and students. Special videos were also prepared to be added to the Aprendo en Casa del Minedu program and teachers were trained in the use of the methodology taught. Sixteen years after its creation, the BBVA Foundation’s flagship program is taught in public schools in Ayacucho, Huancavelica, Ica, Piura, Lima and Callao. The beneficiaries add up to more than 130,000 children nationwide.

This is not the only program promoted by the foundation. Although since its creation in 1973 -under the name of EduBanco- its main interest has been the promotion of reading, in recent years its interest in other social aspects has grown. For example, Your money, your friend and Finances as a game point to the necessary financial education in difficult times, both for individuals and for SMEs.

But there is more, says the director of the institution of social responsibility. “We have broadened the spectrum to sustainability issues, we are participating in the preservation of a significant number of hectares of Amazon jungle forests in Madre de Dios. We work on innovation and research initiatives with the Institute of Nature, Earth and Energy of the Catholic University. We are also with the Arbio association, as well as with the Faculty of Medical Bioengineering of the Cayetanos Heredia University, promoting scientific and technological research to improve people’s quality of life, always from an environmental point of view”. As if that were not enough, together with Unesco, the Innovative Educational Projects Contest for Sustainable Development is being developed and the Marcelino Champagnat University is supporting the training of teachers in the province of Marañón, Loreto, so that teachers can offer university classes in their native languages. The objective is to “promote a greener, more social and inclusive vision”.

To celebrate this first half century, during 2023 the activities of the BBVA Foundation will continue with more force. In addition to the renewed commitments with the Lima Book Fair, the Lima Film Festival and the Ponle Corazón Campaign, we must add the participation in the 20th anniversary of the Museum of Pre-Columbian Art, in Cusco, one of the three monumental patrimonies that the foundation protects. .

Alvarado’s final reflection summarizes the imprint of the institution he directs: “We started in full military government and we went through different historical and social conflicts that we all know. El Niño phenomena arrived, a pandemic and recently a cyclone. And despite all the problems and disasters, we have continued working for the education and culture of children when in crisis situations the first thing that is cut off is precisely support for these sectors. That is what I rescue the most, it is one of our most valuable lessons and something of which we are very proud.”

Only in 2022 were more than four million beneficiaries of the actions, both face-to-face and virtual, developed by the foundation.