National Editorial
@DiarioCoLatino
The Poma Foundation commemorated this Thursday 40 years of work and social impact in El Salvador. Throughout its history, the organization has promoted effective programs in the areas of health, education and culture, according to its president during the celebration.
The head of the Foundation, Ricardo Poma, said that, throughout these 40 years, his predecessors were characterized by their vision, by their talent to create innovative projects not only from a business point of view, but also from a social one. “They instilled in our family the conviction that, as entrepreneurs, our purpose goes beyond business and must incorporate development as a fundamental axis,” he said.
Throughout its history, Poma explained, the organization and its programs have evolved to meet the needs of the country. For example, in the 1980s, the Poma family joined in the creation of the Salvadoran Foundation for Health and Human Development (FUSAL), in order to channel humanitarian aid to communities affected by the armed conflict and the devastating earthquake of 1986.
In his speech, Poma also referred to the impact in the area of education, which began with the renowned Language, Literature and Spelling Competitions in 1989, and which lasted for 20 years.
One of the most visionary and recognized projects in the Foundation’s social trajectory is the creation of the Escuela Superior de Economía y Negocios (ESEN) in 1994, which to date has more than 2,650 graduates. The academic offering of the ESEN is currently made up of four degrees: Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and Business, Bachelor’s Degree in Legal Sciences, Business Engineering, and Software Engineering and Digital Business.
Since 2007, the Foundation has expanded its impact on education and created different scholarship funds to provide young people with a desire for self-improvement and limited financial resources with the opportunity to pursue technical or university studies. The community that benefits from these initiatives totals more than 3,000 young people.
The Foundation added that art and culture are also axes for social development according to its vision; for this reason, in 2003, it created the Luis Poma Theater. This program, said the entrepreneur, “has marked a before and after in the history of Salvadoran theater, through an uninterrupted program, a focus on the accessibility of shows and an agenda of opportunities for artistic professionalization.”
Throughout its history, the Luis Poma Theater has presented around 225 plays, performed by more than 100 theater groups, and attended by almost 400,000 spectators.
The Foundation has also promoted the Ovación competition and the Biennial Playwriting Competition with the aim of helping artists professionalise their careers and carry out artistic projects. The former has been held 14 times and the latter three times.
As part of the celebration of its four decades of history, the Foundation published the book “40 Stories of Well-being and Social Progress.” It compiles the success stories of some of the participants in its social programs.
“The journey of these 40 years has been as rewarding as its fruits. Although the numbers project our profound impact, there is something that the figures do not tell: the enthusiasm, effort and determination of the people. They are the most important and those who give significance to our footprint,” concluded the president of the Foundation.
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