Youth Day Volunteers Trained to Aid Disabled. 10,000 Handicapped Expected to Visit Madrid

MADRID, Spain, July 29, 2010, 09:55 Hrs (Zenit.org):

In the preparation for the visit of 10,000 youth with disabilities coming to Madrid for the 2011 World Youth Day, volunteers are receiving special training as helpers for the handicapped.

The Alares Foundation signed an agreement with World Youth Day organizers and its collaborator, the Madrid Vivo Foundation, about a program to train volunteers in caring for those with disabilities.

The Alares Foundation is committed to teach the volunteers to aid disabled visitors in a way appropriate to their needs.

Javier Benavente, the foundation's president, pointed out that the agreement "is a very great challenge of much importance and responsibility -- one of the most important that the foundation has received," reported the youth day organizers.

Among other things, this foundation is dedicated to the integration of disabled people in businesses.

The training will take place at several levels: general education for all the volunteers, and specific training for those who will be working directly with the handicapped.

During the event in August 2011, the Alares Foundation will be answering a 24-hour telephone hotline for volunteers who have specific doubts or questions about how to best help handicapped persons.

Pedro Besari, director of the youth day volunteers office, noted, "It is always more difficult for the disabled to travel and move, and that is why it is good to be well prepared to help them in the best way possible."

The youth day organizers have nominated a special team to coordinate and receive those participants who have special needs. The committee includes representatives from various groupings of disabilities: visual, auditory, physical and psychological.

Organizers are expecting some 10,000 young people with disabilities to attend the event.