Photos Marco Lara
Alonso Araneda has been going to Teletón Santiago for his therapies for 9 months. He is currently ten years old and says that what he likes to do most in his therapies is to use the Locomat “because it helps me practice how I should walk correctly and it helps me to move forward so as not to continue with the canes.”
His mother Johana is happy with the construction of the new Telethon center for O’Higgins because “this means that we have to travel many hours to be able to get to the therapies and comply with the schedules. So for us this is a hope, a great dream that we had a long time ago that we hope would come true and now we are seeing that it is coming true, we really want to start treating Alonso so that he can continue his treatment as is. does in Santiago. And just like many families who travel from different areas of the sixth region, they can have their therapy place closer, because it benefits us economically. “I thank the regional government for everything they are supporting us and the Telethon for also including children from all over.”
She is one of the more than 1,200 families who must travel to Santiago every day for the progress of their children, as is Camila Nehring, mother and caregiver of Bruno and León, two children who are rehabilitated at Teletón Santiago. “It is a relief in the great effort that each family makes in the rehabilitation of each of the children and young people who belong to Teletón. Thank you for highlighting this great need and understanding that Telethon is a fundamental tool in our daily lives as a family. And having the accessibility and proximity of a Telethon institute also means great progress as a society. This is the first stone, which undoubtedly means hope for a better future.”
“Thank you to everyone who has made this possible. Thank you to everyone who has made this day the beginning of a better and new life,” added Jaime Torres, former miner from El Teniente and father of a Teletón patient. Like many families, Jaime’s life changed in 2012, after the arrival of his son David, who was born with a disability. Since then he travels to Santiago every time it is necessary so that his son can access the rehabilitation treatments provided by Teletón.
FIRST STONE
With the insitu importance, this Thursday on the land of the Rancagua Communal Park, where the rehabilitation center number 15 of Teletón will be built, the first stone of what will be the future new Teletón Institute of O’Higgins was laid.
The ceremony was attended by President Gabriel Boric; of regional authorities and families of Teletón, and representatives of the social organizations, institutions and companies that make possible the solidarity work that this 2024 marks 46 years of history.
During his visit to the area, the President highlighted “This first stone in O’Higgins is going to change the lives of many families, 1,200 families, but, surely, we are going to have many more diagnoses and not only in travel times, but also in proximity, in generation of community. Today, to receive the care they require, as the families present here and the governor well remembered, they have to travel to Maule or Santiago.”
The president added, “Where this is located is tremendously important. The governor said it and Jaime said it, three blocks from the bus terminal which, therefore, will allow much better connectivity and we have to worry that those three blocks are three very inclusive blocks.”
“These 4 thousand square meters with a therapy room, care boxes, rehabilitation gym, swimming pool, technology and multiple services are great news for O’Higgins, but, in addition, they have another virtue that these works generate employment, generate reactivation, They then generate demand for different types of work and that gives greater dynamism to the region. That is good news for O’Higgins and for Chile,” the president remarked, highlighting that the project meant an investment of more than $10.2 billion financed with resources from the Regional Government within the government’s economic reactivation agenda.
This institute is being built today thanks to the contribution of more than 12 billion pesos by the Regional Government of O’Higgins, which were approved unanimously by the Regional Council.
“This is a work that fills us with pride, which will have the best technology available for our boys and girls,” said regional governor Pablo Silva Amaya.
The regional authority explained that, along with the work, the regional investment includes the acquisition of two vehicles to transport patients, which will add to the efforts that the municipalities of the other 32 communes in the region will make to bring children and young people to the center “The installation of Telethon is a concrete solution for thousands of boys and girls in the region,” he emphasized.
Meanwhile, the Municipality of Rancagua gave up the land located in the communal park, which is also strategically located near the bus terminal and Route 5 south. “Personally, I can say that my brother and my family had the difficulty of moving to Santiago for the Telethon. We were a Teletón family and we know all the wear and tear that exists on the family, therefore, it is going to be something super significant, not only for the Rancagüinos who need these services, but for the entire region. The connection that the Teletón center has is an undeniable point, and just as the President said, that the path from the terminal to the Teletón was as fluid as possible, the municipality is going to take care of it with all the tools it has at its disposal so that this be it,” said the Mayor of Rancagua, Emerson Avendaño.
For his part, the executive vice president of Teletón, Ademir Domic, highlighted the importance of this milestone “Today we celebrate that this dream is beginning to come true thanks to the commitment of the Regional Government and the unanimity of its council that have supported the approval of the funds for the construction and implementation of these facilities. Both these authorities and the various public organizations that are part of this project reflect the commitment of a wide diversity of people who – throughout Chile – contribute to providing more opportunities for the boys, girls and young people that we receive in Teletón. It is around this cause that we see that, when we dream together, we manage to advance the desire to make a better country and a more inclusive society,” he added.
THE TELETHON CENTER IN OHIGGINS
This new center will have 4,155 m2 built, including care boxes, an inclusive therapy room, a waiting room for families, a library, a cafeteria and an administration office, as well as parking on the underground floor. And it will be strategically located near the bus terminal.
Although the groundbreaking ceremony was held this Thursday, the works are already underway and are being carried out by the Ministry of Public Works. It is expected that the works will be completed during 2025 and the future center will be fully operational at the end of that year or at the beginning of 2026.
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