A total of 70 children from Totana have been participating in the "Christmas School 2020", a work and family reconciliation program, promoted by the Totana City Council and developed by the Collective for Social Promotion "El Candil ". The program began with minors on December 23 and will run until January 8, 2021, coinciding with the Christmas school vacation period, and responding to a social and educational demand that many families in the municipality have during this time.
of the year. In this program, a total of 70 boys and girls between the ages of 3 and 12 participate, free of charge, and up to 75 places offered can be completed during the next few days. To carry out these activities, the City Council has made available to the Project the classrooms of the Jos Munuera y Abad a Reading Center, the Social Center of the Era Alta neighborhood and the Social Center of the San Francisco neighborhood , through the Councils of Youth, Citizen Participation and Services to the city, conditioning the spaces, regarding fences and means of protection necessary to carry out activities with total security, the schedule is Monday to Friday, from 9:00 a.m.
to 2:00 p.m. It also offers, for those families that need it, morning extension, starting at 8:00 a.m.
and in the afternoon, until 3:00 p.m., respectively. The free service is possible by virtue of the direct subsidy granted to the Totana City Council, and which is financed by the European Social Fund 2014/2020 and the Ministry of Women, Equality, LGTBI, Families and Politics Social of the Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia. The purpose of the program is to provide services for the reconciliation of work and private life in the municipality and to cover the care needs of children while their parents are working or receiving training for employment, and to do so possible, it is necessary to develop actions that allow them to balance their employment with the family and their personal development in a balanced way. The contract to carry out this project has been awarded, through a bidding process, to the Collective for Social Promotion "El Candil", an entity with long experience and extensive experience in working in the social sphere, education and minors. The participants work in the Christmas school, among others, education for health and physical activity, popular games, audiovisual communication and ICT, sustainable development and environment, promotion of creativity and education in values. In addition, they also develop activities related to emotional intelligence, education for diversity and equal opportunities, coexistence and community relations, solidarity and commitment and knowledge. With the launch of this service, the aim is to reconcile work, family and personal life; meet the demand and existing need for free time activities during the Christmas holidays (sports, recreational and outdoor activities, educational reinforcement, handicraft workshops and creative expression; and activities that promote gender equality nero, education in values ??and healthy habits. In addition, complementary activities and extra workshops are also offered in the afternoons, for those families who need it, especially in the cases of workers with split days as they usually occur in activities such as commerce, and especially on these dates. Thus, the workshops that are being carried out are: Christmas lighting in the emblematic Plaza de San Roque and snack, Christmas badge workshop, handicraft workshop, cinema forum, etc. In the same way, the organization does not forget the protection measures with the current situation: all children are separated into small groups, with a monitor in charge, adapting the ratios per monitor in a very special way due to the health situation, keeping social distance and making good use of the mask, disinfection and all the health recommendations. It should be noted, especially in this edition, the high participation and response from families, thanking the trust placed in this service for another year.
