23,000 reasons to help

As a transport engineering and consultancy with more than 50 years of history, more than 3,000 highly qualified professionals and a multidisciplinary scope of action spanning five continents, Ineco carries out thousands of engineering, consultancy and building projects every year for all modes of transport.

A few of these stand out: the charitable projects developed by the participants of the IngenioSOS programme and financed entirely by the company. In 2020, in its second edition, it has three new proposals led by as many NGOs, all of them with the Fundación Lealtad seal of transparency. A total of 12 volunteers, professionals in engineering, architecture and computer science, together with one member of the management staff per project, work with a clear objective: to improve the living conditions of different groups of people in communities in Kenya, Ethiopia and Guatemala, with a special focus on children. These projects will directly improve quality of life for more than 23,000 people, and indirectly improve the lives of almost 200,000 people.

The Meki maternal and child health clinic, in Ethiopia.

A detailed look at the 2020 projects

The design and implementation of an online coordination and monitoring system for work with clubs and schools against female genital mutilation (FGM) in Kenya, led by the Kirira Foundation. Established in 2007, this Foundation is dedicated to cooperation for development, the defence of human rights, the promotion of volunteering and the care of people at risk of social exclusion, especially in countries where female genital mutilation is practised.

The project on which Ineco is collaborating is being carried out in the Kirira Foundation’s intervention areas in Kenya: Tharaka, Tangulbei and Abakuria. It consists of the design and development of a mobile management and monitoring application, suitable for tablets and computers, to be used by the anti-FGM clubs of the 86 participating schools and the local partner. Ineco also finances the purchase of mobile devices and advises the NGO on how to provide internet connection to schools.

The project for energy supply for the Meki maternal and child health clinic in Ethiopia, which is run by the Pablo Horstmann Foundation, created in 2007, has already concluded. In Ethiopia, the foundation runs a maternal and child health clinic, a children’s home, a kindergarten and a scholarship programme for orphans. The project in which Ineco is involved has been developed in Meki, a rural town south of Addis Ababa, where the maternal and child health clinic is located, providing care for 18,271 children and 1,166 women. The clinic was opened in 2012 and was upgraded in 2019 with a new maternity and neonatal care unit.

The aim of the project has been to guarantee the electricity supply, which is essential for incubators, monitors, laboratory equipment, cold storage of medicines and vaccines, through the use of a generator. Ineco has prepared a study to improve the energy efficiency of the centre and will provide advice and supervision of the entire process of implementing improvements. The company has also financed the purchase, installation and commissioning of the appropriate generator and the shed that houses it, and has made an additional donation for the acquisition and installation of photovoltaic panels.

The third project of the IngenioSOS 2020 is Clean water and sanitation conditions for indigenous children in the Las Rosas community. El Quiché, Guatemala, led by the Educo Foundation. Since 1994, this NGO has been involved in cooperation for development and humanitarian action for children, especially in the field of education. It is active in Spain and in 12 countries in Africa, America and Asia.

Guatemala is one of the most underdeveloped countries in Central America. The project consists of rehabilitating and improving the sanitary infrastructure of the school in the village of Las Rosas, with a population of just over 1,000. The school, with 160 students, does not have adequate hygiene facilities (washbasins, toilets, wells, etc.), which leads to the spreading of diseases, forcing children to miss classes on a regular basis.

Ineco’s collaboration consists of the design and financing of the project, as well as the drafting of the terms and conditions of the tender for the works and the technical specifications, the hydraulic design of the greywater treatment system and the review of the budget and proposals for materials and equipment. The Educo Foundation, meanwhile, will select the contracting company and provide basic hygiene materials and training sessions for the children aimed at reducing common communicable diseases.