a passion for society, a passion for art and culture,
15,000 young people in Mexico to benefit under the Por los que se quedan (For those left behind) integration programme
2 September 2009
The BBVA Bancomer Foundation has announced that for the coming school year it will increase the number of scholarships on offer from 10,600 to 15,000 in 18 states and 143 municipalities in Mexico, covering 60% of the total national territory. A new structure has also been presented for administering the growth of the programme with the deployment of 18 state supervisors.
The foundation's director, Gustavo Lara Alcántara, explained that this major enlargement of the programme has made it necessary to reinforce the structures to ensure more efficient operation and monitoring. To achieve this, the new position of ‘state supervisor’ has been created. State supervisors will be in charge of accompanying and monitoring the scholarship community promotion officers and godparents at a state level.
BBVA Bancomer organised a welcome event for the newly- appointed state supervisors, attended by senior management from BBVA Bancomer and participants in this social development project. The General Manager for Retail Banking, Juan Pablo Ávila Palafox, emphasised the importance of the human side of the scheme, stressing that this community support "comes in two forms: financial aid and the dedication of time, effort and personal tutorship through the godparents, who are available to help scholars at our branch offices".
A training course was then organised for the state supervisors. The main points dealt with were the development of skills and other operating themes of the programme. The supervisor for the State of Mexico, Blanca Estela Muñoz Mandiola, said that "This activity has made me grow professionally; it has heightened my personal awareness through the situations we experience in our communities with the different scholars".
The first pilot experience of the Por los que se quedan (For those left behind) integration scholarship programme was set up in 2006. Initially 600 scholarships were awarded in the three Mexican states where the phenomenon of migration to the US is most acute. Each scholar received financial aid of 1,000 pesos (around €52) per month over a 10-month period. The essential features of the programme remain the same and it continues to grow.
