Construcciones y Prestaciones Petroleras SA (CPP) organized a series of School Medical Brigades from June 10 to 16 to promote well-being in the communities neighboring the Auca and Shushufindi projects, in Ecuador.

In line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG), which seeks to “ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages”, CPP's Social Management area developed the School Medical Brigades project under the motto “Your well-being is our priority”. In force since 2022, the Brigades offer professional dental and optometry care to school-aged children living in the communities neighboring the Auca and Shushufindi fields. The program is designed to develop lines of healthcare based on the family as a unit.

Patricia Carrera, Head of the Social Management Department at CPP, explained that, “working in alignment with the SDGs, this year our goal was to beat last year’s care target, as in 2022 we provided 500 children with dental and optometry services, including the delivery of glasses.”

This year, during the seven days that the Medical Brigades were in action, 779 children received treatment (525 in dentistry and 254 in optometry), which exceeded the goals set. As part of its outreach strategy this year, CPP was joined by other allies from the private sector such as Asertec (Insurance Company), NOVULIS (Dental Clinic), MOA (Dental Service), Humanitarian Clowns and REDNI (Child Nutrition Network). “The network provided workshops on how to combat child malnutrition, a new service that we introduced to educate parents and families,”  said Patricia.

Over 700 people attended the REDNI training and awareness workshops. Jonathan Santander, a REDNI nutritionist, emphasized the importance of these sessions, since teaching parents how to ensure their children receive the right nutrition throughout their school years is essential for their physical and mental development. “We organized practical activities and games for the attendees, for instance, on how to assemble a healthy lunch box with all the right nutrients for optimal performance throughout their children’s lives,” explained Jonathan.

Johana Guanoquiza, a Medical Specialist in Family Medicine from the Ministry of Public Health, shared her view that, "these sorts of events are key in the fight to prevent the spread of disease and provide timely care, thus avoiding future complications."

Ángel Valencia, the coordinator of the NGO Payasos Humanitarios Ecuador, commented that in these activities, the idea is to create moments of joy and love through laughter therapy, transforming children’s daily lives. He expressed his gratitude to CPP, Asertec and all the companies that came together to make this possible.