Over 900 Schools Participated in Recycling Project of the Rica Group with Support from the Ministry of Education

Over 900 Schools Participated in Recycling Project of the Rica Group with Support from the Ministry of Education
Santo Domingo, 20 de Abril de 2015

Atotal of 935 schools from ten education regional districts participated in the Rica Group’s project Aliméntate, Recicla y Conócenos (Feed Yourself, Recycle and Get to Know Us), with support from the Ministry of Education. The purpose of the project is to create awareness among the students about the importance of eating healthy; and, protecting the environment and their surroundings by reusing materials.

During a ceremony that was held in the the Central Bank’s Jesús María Troncoso auditorium, the following schools won the top three prizes: La Ciénega, Luciano Díaz, and Celina Pellier. The presentation of a grant totaling more than RD$3,000,000 was also announced for the equipping and refurbishing of the classrooms of the 44 winning schools.

The event was attended by the Deputy Minister of Education, Luis Enrique Matos, representing Minister Carlos Amarante Baret; the Executive Director of the National Institute of Student Welfare (INABIE), René Jáquez, and the Executive Vice President of the Rica Group, Julio Virgilio Brache, who headed the ceremony.

La Ciénega School, located in School District 03-03, was the winner of the first place with the project Production Innovators (Greenhouse), which received a prize worth RD$300,000 to set up a computer center.

The second place, won by the Luciano Díaz School, located in School District 08-03, with the Healthy Schools project, carried a prize of RD$200,000 in audiovisual equipment; while the Celina Pellier school, located in School District 10-04, was the winner of the third place with the Princess Rica Recycler project, and an award valued at RD$100,000 for the library.

Deputy Minister Matos, on behalf of the Minister of Education, congratulated the Rica Group for its team that secured the support of the Ministry to participate in the project. He stated that this should be seen as a learning experience as the ones that must be developed in order to motivate the leaders of the education system to support the students’ initiatives.

“A project such as this one should be seen as a learning experience, it has an extraordinary value within our schools,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Director of the INABIE indicated that this program bolsters an initiative that the Ministry of Education has developed in the extended-day schools. He said that the project is an opportunity to engage the students in caring for the planet through the recycling of solid waste.

“Another element shown by this initiative is that when students are given support, the appropriate advice, have adequate teachers, and have the permanent follow-up of their teachers, principals, and technicians, it is clear that our students are super intelligent,” said Jáquez.

He stressed that the project demonstrated the students’ creativity, initiative, innovation and ownership of their environment; they just need the right support and encouragement of the external sector and the education authorities. The diversity of pieces that were created by the students used scraps from the School Meals Program.

The Executive Vice President of Rica thanked the support of the Ministry of Education and INABIE to the project and congratulated the teachers for raising awareness among the students not to throw garbage on the streets and that waste can be reused for many purposes, including to make a living.

Photos