Sixteenth Quarterly Report: Sportpower2 Project

The project's primary objective is to strengthen inter-institutional management actions that will lead to the sustainability of each component implemented by the project. During the first quarter of 2018, the project focused on labor inclusion, strengthening organizations, and psychosocial accompaniment components. In the labor inclusion component, joint activities continued with the Employment Agencies for business management and the activation of the participants' employability path. Awareness meetings were held with companies interested in including people with disabilities. In the city of Cartagena, in partnership with the Employment Agency of Comfenalco Bolívar, the employability route of 15 participants with physical and hearing disabilities was carried out, as well as business awareness of four hotels and the qualification of two officials of the Agency on how to do business management that promotes the inclusion of this population in the labor market. The strengthening organizations component involved the organizational strengthening of productive units, sports clubs, organizations of and for persons with disabilities, and territorial disability committees. Channels of communication were established with the different officials of the institutions in the territory, such as the National Learning Service - SENA, and the implementation of a sports management course, in compliance with COLDEPORTES resolution 547 of July 12, 2010. Advice and support were also provided to the process of obtaining legal status for the Rey Guajiro Sports Club of Riohacha, which obtained sports recognition in February 2018. The psychosocial accompaniment component involved the development of a whole process of psychosocial accompaniment and hand-in-hand work with the participants, resulting in concrete actions led not only by the psychosocial professional but by the participants themselves. The project highlights the following achievements within the psychosocial component: a positive impact on the perception of quality of life of all participants, the experience of the project being translated into a general-purpose methodological guide for group and individual sports, and the ability of participants to speak about their lives and experiences in a way that builds and sets an example for those who know and listen to them. The project also made improvements to its webpage and social media presence, with a total of 4,400 impressions obtained during the period from January 1st to March 31st 2018, which is the number of times a publication is displayed in a digital medium. The personnel in charge of making the video capsules were called upon to provide information on the importance of audiovisual communication as a dissemination tool in the development of the project and strategies to eliminate social barriers, through messages and images that generate conscious awareness among the general public. The implementation of the project's activities is tracked through a performance tracking table, which shows the progress made in achieving the project's indicators. The table indicates that 65 people participated in activities related to the project, and 24 people improved their quality of life. The project also engaged with 105 organizations and strengthened 3 USG-assisted organizations and/or service delivery systems that serve vulnerable populations. Overall, the Sportpower2 project made significant progress in promoting social inclusion through sport and strengthening inter-institutional management actions during the first quarter of 2018. The project's activities and achievements demonstrate its commitment to promoting the sustainability of people with disabilities and victims of conflict.