Rafael Nunez Aponte: Grupo Bimbo Benefiting the Society, Environment and Community

Social Commitment of Grupo Bimbo

Grupo Bimbo is a Mexican food company operating in America, Asia and Europe. The company produces more than 10,000 products through various brands.

Social responsibility. 

Grupo Bimbo understands that social responsibility becomes more relevant when done together. In this regard, the company provides best practices in the management of the organization and allowing the adherence to international standards, that give the company an opportunity to be compared in the global context and also acquires a training aspect to serve people in their professional and private lives.

In 2012, the communication platform of social responsibility Grupo Bimbo Sembrando Juntos was born. It guides the actions of the company to join forces for the benefit of society, the environment and community development.

Under this concept, Grupo Bimbo adds to their supply chain, its customers and society in general to a program that works in the following areas:

• Create products with improved nutritional profiles.

• Better care, conservation and recovery of the environment.

• The development of the communities in which the company operates.

• Promote personal and professional development of its employees.

Community Development.

Education / Health and Fitness / Environment and Rural Development

Donations

The company has a program of donations to institutions that work in the following areas:

·         promoting physical activity and health,

·         environmental conservation,

·         social development and indigenous development,

·         and education.

Through the donations budget, Grupo Bimbo supports the communities. In 2013, 2.0% of its net profits of 2012 was allocated to support around 300 institutions with financial donations.

Recycling Circuit of Ecological Notebooks for schools

Idea Verde

Idea Verde starts its first circuit of eco-sustainable notebooks which will allow 1,000 low-income children receive 5000 recyclable notebooks that they can recycle and reuse six times for six school years.

Idea Verde has made alliance with four educational institutions offering courses to low-income children in Caracas (Venezuela) which have informed and specified the need they have of counting with notebooks to the children’s degree and their materials.

A un cuaderno de ti

Once collected the financial resources for manufacturing 5000 notebooks, Idea Verde will start the manufacturing process for a month, and after that, the company will give the notebooks to the children on October 15th, 2015.

At the end of the school year, Idea Verde will collect the notebooks for processing them and then, the company will return the notebooks to the children, repeating this recycling process for six years.

The objective. Idea Verde aims to contribute to the educational development of the Venezuelan youth regarding its general aspects and regarding eco-sustainability. Idea Verde specifically wants to:

• Donate 5000 eco-notebooks to 1000 children and teenagers of one school and three nonprofit organizations on the date October 15th, 2015.
• Recycle and return these 5000 ecological notebooks to 1,000 children to create the first recycling circuit of notebooks for the next six years.
• Promote ecological values in the Venezuelan population in innovative ways.
• Collaborate to increase the chances that low-income children have of continuing their education process without interruption.
• Reduce expenditure on school supplies of low-income families.
• Contribute to the reduction of the deforestation.
• Recycle paper, cardboard and plastic.
• Contribute to the creation of a movement for eco-sustainability.

Support schools.

This project will benefit more than 900 families in the first year, and in the long-term it will benefit more than 300,000 families.

Rafael Nunez Aponte: Learn more about Gender-Based Violence

Groups of Support to the Victim

Gender-Based Violence (GBV) is a term used to describe the harmful acts committed against a person based on the differences that society assigns to men and women separately. This term is used primarily as a way to highlight the vulnerability of women and girls to several forms of violence in the places where they are victims of discrimination because they are women. Important organizations such as UNICEF give us a list of various forms of GBV. The examples they provide include:

• ·         Exploitation and sexual abuse.
• ·         Child marriage.
• ·         Mutilation / female genital cutting.
• ·         Sexual harassment.
• ·         Abuse in the price of dowry.
• ·         Honor killings.
• ·         Domestic or intimate partner violence.
• ·         Deprivation of inheritance or property.
• ·         Abuse of the elderly.

It is important to highlight that there are many institutions and organizations that give support to victims of abuse such as Counter Pedophilia Investigative Unit and PLAFAM (Asociación civil de Planificación Familiar). This association has a program for all the public which objectives are:

1. Awareness and strengthening institutional capacity on issues of violence to improve the detection and treatment services to people living in situations of potential or actual risk.
2. Awareness of violence as a public health issue, both in users as in PLAFAM staff.
3.  Prevention of GBV situations, implementing education programs and guidance to young people.
4. Promoting research on issues related to violence.
5.  Creating intervention and evaluation strategies that allow the optimization of health services.
6. Promote Socio Emotional Empowerment  to Women victims / survivors of GBV.

How PLAFAM Can Help the Victims?

Individual Psychological counseling (psychotherapy)

Attention to children / girls and adolescents victims of sexual violence and providing a service to the legal authorities and, by giving child and adolescent psychological treatment, support groups and counseling preteens, teens and parent in order to protect and guarantee their rights.

The Collective Interest of the Venezuelan Chamber of Construction

The Venezuelan Chamber of Construction (CVC in Spanish) was founded in 1943, as a nonprofit civil association of public interest, which aims to promote, develop and protect the construction industry in Venezuela and defend the professional interests of its members and encourage their social, economic and moral improvement.

The CVC

As always, the CVC assumes its commitment to Social Responsibility with the foundation of the NGO of the Venezuelan Chamber of Construction –FCVC (in Spanish)-, which was created with the intention to encourage, among members of the CVC, an active and voluntary contribution in order to improve their social environment.

Current Programs of the CVC

Subject of Construction Management:

The FCVC has focused its action on two key programs in education the Subject of Construction Management. Since several years ago the CVC teaches the Subject of Construction Management as a compulsory subject in the curriculum of Civil Engineering at UNIMET, and in September 2006 it signed the Inter-Institutional Cooperation with the UCV. The School of Civil Engineering includes the Subject as a selective module and the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism has introduced it among the optional subjects in the construction area.

This Subject is designed to offer students an overview of the construction industry in Venezuela, presenting formal aspects with updated data, the topics inherent in the management of civil works, familiarizing the student with the development process in the construction in the country.

Rafael Nunez Aponte: Causes of Child Prostitution (Part I)

Child prostitution means the use of children in sexual activities with the objective of obtaining profits or other kind of compensations. This type of activities can also be called as sexual exploitation. Abused children usually are forced to work in the streets or in establishments like brothels, discos, massage parlors, bars, hotels or restaurants. Child prostitution affects both girls and boys. 

According to experts of important institutions against child abuse such as CPIU, in some countries, such as United States, child prostitution can even be included in the distribution or dissemination of images of minors engaged in sexual activities and is considered illegal.

Avoiding Child Sexual Abuse

Causes of Child Prostitution

Poverty: this is the main cause of prostitution. Often, families feel forced to sell their children to traffickers due to their low incomes, which are not enough to meet their basic needs. Poverty can also lead to abandonment. Because of their vulnerability, children become the perfect target of manipulators who promise work and remuneration.

Money: prostitution is a very lucrative activity compared with the level of local wages in many countries. In Kenya, for example, a sexual encounter with a girl under 16 years old may cost about 20 euros. Nevertheless, prices can reach 60 euros, while a common Kenyan earns on average only four euros a day.

Orphans: wars, natural disasters and diseases such as HIV/AIDS contribute to the increasing number of orphans worldwide each year. Because of their vulnerability, these children accept any kind of jobs and prostitution becomes a mean of survival, since it is a high lucrative activity compared to other denigrating and dangerous work.

Easy Tips to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse through the Internet

Create different users

If you have Internet at home, you may check these easy tips to control what your children watch on their computer. This will help you to prevent child sexual abuse and to protect your family.

In some countries, more than 60% of children between 11 and 14 years old have at least one profile in social networks, despite being something illegal in most of the countries. Analysis, numbers and data about this topic and child safety are inspired in the information provided by important institutions such as Guia Infantil and CPIU. Here, we show you the most important tips:

1. Check the functionality of all devices. Before purchasing any gadget for your child, behold its specifications and features. One item that seems to be just an mp3 may be and access to the Internet.

2. Protect computers with passwords. To install a password for accessing to all devices will allow you to control the use of Internet at home.

3. Create different account on the computer. Establish different users and allow your child to have his/her own account and profile, this will avoid accesses to programs or unwanted files. It is important to have an adult account like “administrator” and the child has a “limited user” with which the child will not change or install new hardware or software, games, music players or chat programs.

4. Do not share personal information. Control personal data requested by children’s pages and pay attention to those that ask for personal information. Talk to your child for he/she understands the dangers about providing certain information publicly and also discuss about sweepstakes and promotions online.

5. Control the use of chats and messaging programs. Chats, social networks and instant messaging services can be the means that children use to share interests and build friendships. Nevertheless, the anonymity of the Internet can put children in the way of abusers or imposters.

Rafael Nunez Aponte: Preventing Child Sexual Abuse

Preventing Child Sexual Abuse

Child sexual abuse can be defined as all sexual activities between an adult and an under-age person when the adult exerts power over the child either by force, coercion or persuasion. This is considered as a crime punishable by law and also an action with severe repercussions on the abuser of the victim. 

The statistics and numbers regarding this topic are alarming according to some organizations such as CPIU, which is in charge of educating and helping children and their families about child sexual abuse. This problem is more common than we think, this is why we should keep this information below to prevent child sexual abuse and safeguard the childhood and the innocence in our children.

7 steps to prevent child sexual abuse

Information inspired in the guide created by RANA

·         Know the facts: it’s important to know that abusers often try to find a trustful relationship with the parents of the victims. Do not forget that anyone can be an abuser. A third of the victims are abused by family members, so be aware of those who are close.

·         Reduce risks: this type of abuse often occurs when an adult is alone with the child. Be always present or try to establish situations in which they can be observed by others. Monitor the use of Internet at home.

·         Talk about the topic: Avoid taboo. Talk about child abuse to your children, removing the barrier of silence about the topic. Abusers can manipulate and confuse children to make them believe the abuse is normal or a game.

·         Stay alert: see the origin of different signs such as irritation, swelling, or rash on the genitals, urinary tract infections, abdominal pain or headaches. Recognize emotional signs like withdrawal or depression, self-imposed, anger or rebellion. Sexual behavior is atypical at short ages.

·         Be informed: don’t express disbelief or anger. This makes the child try to justify the abuse and avoid questions.

·         Act when you’re suspicious: denounce and contact social services.

·         Get involved: fight against abuse by supporting laws and organizations to combat child sexual abuse.