The CaixaProinfancia programme funds camps for at-risk minors. The Fundació Marianao, based in Sant Boi de Llobregat, is one of the collaborating entities.
The Fundació Marianao, an entity based in Sant Boi de Llobregat, participates in the CaixaProinfancia programme of the La Caixa Foundation, which this summer offers camps and activities to more than 30,000 children and adolescents in vulnerable situations across Spain. The initiative aims to provide educational and leisure experiences to minors who would otherwise not have access to them.
Daniel Osiàs, a social educator at the Fundació Marianao, highlights that summer camps have great educational potential. “They contribute to the holistic development of the individual,” he notes. According to Osiàs, the impact on health is particularly significant for children from vulnerable families, who are more exposed to sedentary lifestyles and social isolation. Additionally, skills such as cooperation, responsibility, and teamwork are developed.
The programme not only offers fun but also seeks to ensure that minors meet new people and establish relationships outside their usual circle. “The very functioning of the group is already an educational experience,” explains Osiàs. The children actively participate in organising daily activities, which fosters a culture of shared responsibility. Activities related to language, creativity, and artistic expression are also included.
Osiàs emphasises that a change of context can reveal hidden abilities in minors. “School failure does not necessarily occur because they lack abilities, but because the context has not allowed them to show them,” he asserts. In the camps, by providing a different environment, many children display behaviour completely different from what they exhibit at school.
The experience also has a positive effect on self-esteem. “A child who accumulates negative experiences at school ends up developing low self-esteem,” points out Osiàs. In the camps, by being able to develop other skills, they build a more positive self-image. For educators, the camps are an opportunity to observe minors from a different perspective, beyond what they show in the classroom or in interviews.
The Fundació Marianao has been working with the CaixaProinfancia programme for years, which in 2024 plans to assist more than 30,000 minors across Spain. The camps take place in various locations, with activities tailored to each age group. The goal is for children to enjoy a different summer, with learnings that last.
For families in Sant Boi de Llobregat and the rest of the metropolitan area of Barcelona, this initiative provides a breather in a summer that is financially suffocating for many. The places are managed through collaborating social entities, which refer minors based on vulnerability criteria.
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