"They've built cubicles in an old supermarket next door, and now seven families live there."

BarcelonaFather Manel Pousa died five years ago and left a profound legacy, from which we can draw a maxim: "For our work, love and humor are an absolutely necessary pairing." This is recalled by the president of the Pare Manel Foundation, Sandra Pardo, who explains that workers and volunteers have made this idea the organization's leitmotif. "We work with vulnerable people and, therefore, we have the social responsibility to be a joyful role model for them," Pardo emphasizes. The flagship event of this festive attitude is the gala. Win heaven with Father Manel, which has brought artists together on stage since the 1990s with the charitable purpose of raising funds for the Foundation. This year's gala will be held on May 6 at the Teatro Victoria in Barcelona and will be very special because it will be the last. They are already planning new charitable cultural events for the future that will follow the gala's legacy. Win heaven with Father Manel It will host artists who have participated year after year on a voluntary basis, such as Joan Manuel Serrat and Judit Neddermann, as well as others who have participated more sporadically, such as Love of Lesbian, T de Teatro, Sol Picó, and Terremoto de Alcorcón. "We want everyone to be there and, beyond attending an event of the highest cultural quality, for people to also leave knowing what we do at the Foundation. That's why some of our projects will have a special role during the gala," the president explains. Since Father Manel died, the Foundation has had the challenge of moving forward and reinventing itself in some areas without losing sight of the will and ideas of the man who gives it its name.

The impact of the housing crisis

With around thirty employees, the organization is deeply rooted in the Roquetes and Verdum neighborhoods in the Nou Barris district of Barcelona. The transformation of the city and its inhabitants has prompted the Foundation to adapt its projects, which are aimed at children and adults at risk of social exclusion. "The profile we encounter is working-class people, many of them in the hospitality industry or who work as delivery drivers, and a high percentage of the children are children of foreign families," explains Pardo. One of the main challenges they have faced in recent years is the city's housing crisis. Pardo provides examples of baskets that demonstrate the seriousness of the situation. "They've made cubicles in an old supermarket next door, and now seven families live there. I went in the other day and it was incredibly hot. I don't want to think about what it must be like in the summer," says the president, who emphasizes that "there are many premises converted into homes, without ventilation or occupancy certificates."

What can the Foundation do to address this reality? "We're supporting families who don't even have a table at home, mothers with children living in a single room of a shared apartment. We can't ignore how people live and where they live. It has to be included in our action plan," says Pardo. The organization strives to include it in its projects, including summer camps, summer camps, and summer programs, and, throughout the school year, an open center for socio-educational services for children in vulnerable situations. Children attend after school and receive educational support, but they can also participate in other activities and group sports.

"Economic poverty is one thing, and it exists, because if you earn 1,200 euros as a cashier and pay 700 euros in rent, you're poor at best. The CCCB, however, is not seen as a possibility by many of these families," says Pardo. The Foundation promotes these activities "to combat social capital poverty and provide opportunities that otherwise wouldn't exist," adds the president, who also mentions other projects the organization has with adults, such as a network of women seamstresses and a community radio station.