- Through the specialized speech therapy intervention project, a rehabilitation program is offered to improve quality of life for this group.
- The action, aimed at Funcasor users in Gran Canaria, was one of the winners of the Fundación Cepsa 2020 Social Value Awards.
- The call for entries for the 2021 Social Value Awards will remain open until September 30.
Improving the different areas involved in communication, hearing, and language is the primary objective of the speech therapy intervention program specialized in hearing impairment, developed by the social entity Funcasor, on the island of Gran Canaria, with the support of Fundación Cepsa.
The project, which was one of the winners of the Foundation's 2020 Social Value Awards, offers a flagship specialized service in hearing impairment within the comprehensive field, in addition to contributing to the use and management of hearing aids and supporting expressive improvement using oral language and sign language.
The head of Fundación Cepsa in the Canary Islands, Belén Machado, and the project's solidarity sponsor, Luis Barrios, attended one of Funcasor's speech therapy intervention activities to witness the development of the winning project first hand, which was launched last January and will run until October 30. They were received by the manager of Funcasor, Belén Darias, who gave them a comprehensive explanation of both the project and all the services offered by Funcasor.
Belén Machado highlighted the work carried out by the speech therapy service at Funcasor, one of the first offered by the organization since its inception, which has enabled them to gain extensive experience in speech therapy rehabilitation for people with hearing impairments. During her turn, Belén Darias stressed the importance of the award received, as it has allowed them to continue the project in Gran Canaria and to position this rehabilitation program as a reference for the rest of the islands in the archipelago.
In this regard, the manager of Funcasor highlighted the need to create collaborative synergies that allow social entities to provide a benefit to groups such as the hearing impaired, which in the Canary Islands includes about 12,000 people, almost 5,500 of whom reside in Gran Canaria, so that they can cope with the language difficulties.
This speech therapy service is aimed at both children and adults, either with a hearing impairment or any other deficiency in the communication process, as well as pathologies that interfere with non-communicative oral relationships.
Speech therapy sessions are held at the organization's headquarters, following an anti-COVID protocol so that the users feel completely safe, or through virtual means as long as there is no issue that prevents them from being treated in this way.
The program improves the quality of life for both people with speech therapy needs on the island of Gran Canaria, primarily the hearing impaired, and those in their immediate surroundings. In addition to hearing rehabilitation, conducted by speech professionals specializing in auditory-verbal therapy, the care focuses on the family, who will be taught how to create a listening environment, use verbal language processing, and encourage speech expression.
Social Value Awards
The Social Value Awards are one of the stand-out initiatives of Fundación Cepsa. The purpose of these accolades focuses on supporting the more disadvantaged individuals, groups and sectors, and on promoting solidarity values in the business. The call for entries for the 2021 Social Value Awards will remain open until September 30, at 10:00 a.m. (local time).
In addition to the economic benefit they provide, the impact of these awards goes even further, through the involvement of the Foundation and Cepsa's own professionals, who sponsor the programs presented by the associations, providing a follow-up on the activities developed and strengthening ties.