Nikolina de Alvarado, Manager of Institutional Relations & Marketing of Banco Bladex with the members of the Executive Committee of Favorita Fruit Company during the press conference held on May 25th, 2006.
Mrs. Nikolina Nikolov de Alvarado, Manager of Institutional Relations & Marketing of Banco Bladex, visited the projects funded by the Wong Foundation on May 24 and 25, 2006. Bladex -a supranational Bank with a registered office in Panama- was established by the Central Banks of the Latin American and Caribbean countries in order to promote foreign trade financing in the region. It is the first time this bank makes a contribution for a social project outside Panama. Mrs. Alvarado stated that Bladex has found in Favorita Fruit Company a sound corporation and in the Wong Foundation, an institution that carries out relevant programs in favor of the marginal and needy sectors.
The contribution made by Bladex shall be used to fund the Tutorial Learning System (SAT, by its initials in Spanish) developed in the Valencia County, Los Ríos province, which the Wong Foundation started with financing provided by the Labor Department of the United States. In operation since April 2005 in the towns of Costa Azul and El Achiote, the SAT has given access to education to 105 young people who did not have any educational opportunities. The SAT learning process and methodology is proving to be appropriate for students and community members who are now involved in actions aimed at promoting a culture of community service and welfare.
This successful methodology was created in 1974 in Colombia by the Foundation for the Application and Teaching of Science (FUNDAEC). Currently, there are more than 1,000 SAT centers in Colombia, Honduras, Guatemala and Brazil. The Wong Foundation signed an Agreement with FUNDAEC to enable its application in Ecuador through the use of its educational technology and the acquisition of textbooks. Likewise, the Ecuadorean Ministry of Education authorized its implementation in the eighth, ninth and tenth grades of basic education and the recognition of the title of High School Graduate in Community Development.
As a learning tool, the SAT promotes development of human resources capable of tracing a native and self-sustainable course of development. Groups of young people in rural areas, traditionally excluded from the basic educational services, now have access to quality education without leaving their communities.
SAT communities in Ecuador have been visited by officers of the Ministries of Education, Labor and Social Welfare, in addition to the representatives of the National Institute of Childhood and Family (INNFA). The methodology and its results have arisen profound interest in many sectors through the Social Forum of the Banana Industry. Furthermore, the effort made by the Wong Foundation with the SAT project has been recommended as a good educational practice in the Entrepreneur's Guide for Social Responsibility, published by the UNICEF and the International Labor Organization.
