FCBARCELONA.CAT

14.02.2009 11:30

Barça reflect on successful Indian visit

Marc Parramón / Anna Segura

FC Barcelona can look back on a very successful trip to India where the club's Fundación and the Fundación Vicente Ferrer helped to set up two new Xarxa Internacional de Centres Solidaris (International Network of Solidarity Centres - XICS) centres.

Helping to open a new XICS centre always means that there is a party and in India things were no different as the Blaugrana continued to spread their message of solidarity across new borders. President Joan Laporta led a party from Camp Nou to oversee the event and everyone hailed the trip as a resounding success.

Intense and emotional

The director general of the Fundación, Marta Seguir, stated that "it has been an emotional and an intense trip. In tense because the time that we had in India meant that everything had to be optimised as we had a lot of things to do. It was emotional because we have shown how important cooperation is and we have made it a reality."

Also, the chance to meet Vicente Ferrer was something that had a great effect on all members of the Barcleona delegation.

Fundación Vicente Ferrer

The trip to India saw the members of the Fundación find out more about the projects that the Fundación Vicente Ferrer carries out in the country.

Visits to schools that allow children with different psychological and physical disabilities to learn and where they can be taught in handcraft and theatre workshops. The construction of residences and the improvement of dikes and water collection in the swamp areas have been put in place. "They are projects that are well-established in the local communities and are highly sustainable," Seguir said.

First XICS centres in Asia

Thanks to the efforts of the FC Barcelona Fundación in conjunction with several local companies, the area of Bathalapalli can now enjoy the educational facilities that have been set up to help children to learn and integrate. It was a significant moment for the Blaugrana party as they were present to see the first XICS centre opened in Inidia. Ther was also the chance to lay the first stone for a centre that will be built in the town of Atmakur.