In a ceremony held at the Melipeuco recycling center, 36 students from the municipal schools Cumcumllaque, Caren, Volcán Llaima and Liceo Los Andes received environmental educational scholarships focused on basic and secondary education, assigned by the Scholarship Program of the renewable energy generator, Latin America Power (LAP). In addition, this year students from the subsidized private establishments Adenauer, Escuela 10 de Llaima and San Gabriel were incorporated.
Since 2014, LAP's scholarship program has benefited almost 400 students from Melipeuco, through a benefit that has as its main objective to promote education in the area. In this context, this year an environmental pillar was incorporated, so its beneficiaries were students from establishments that participate daily in the “Me Sumo” (“I join”) program, which brings together more than 80% of the school enrollment in the commune.
At the ceremony, the CEO of LAP, Esteban Moraga Morales, delivered to the Melipeuco Environment Unit, a new process room for its Recycling Point, a space where a new use will be given to the glass and aluminum that is collected, generating value to the management of local recycling, since a circular economy model is promoted that starts at the recycling centers, installed in schools and other sectors of the commune, until a recovered product can be generated. This milestone is in addition to a series of concrete actions that are being carried out through this alliance between the municipality and LAP.
The activity was attended by the mayor of Melipeuco, Alejandro Cuminao, the regional secretary of the Environment for the Araucanía, Félix Contreras, the CEO of LAP, Esteban Moraga and the Sustainability Manager for LAP, José Salgado, along with members of the municipal council, directors, parents and students of the 10 educational establishments belonging to the Me Sumo program.
Al respecto, el alcalde de Melipeuco, Alejandro Cuminao, enfatizó en la importancia de estas iniciativas para el futuro de los jóvenes de la comuna. “Estas becas vienen a colaborar y aportar directamente a nuestros estudiantes y sus familias, para que continúen en su trayectoria educativa, se sigan esforzando, y reciban un granito de arena para sus sueños. Además, es importante el trabajo mancomunado que se viene realizando entre la Municipalidad y Latin America Power en los últimos años, a través del programa Me Sumo. Quiero destacar el trabajo que ha realizado el equipo de medioambiente de la municipalidad de Melipeuco, 20 personas hoy están trabajando con distintos oficios y profesiones y que han convertido a esta unidad de medio ambiente en una de las mejores de la Región de la Araucanía. Yo también ME SUMO y se los digo aquí, delante de toda la gente que nos acompaña, de todos nuestros vecinos. MESUMO para poder tener un Melipeuco CERO Basura”.
Meanwhile, the regional secretary of the Environment for the Araucanía, Félix Contreras, stressed that "precisely the public-private link is fundamental, in such a way as to be able to accelerate the processes and that they turn out to be efficient, also well received by the entire community. Therefore, I want to congratulate the work and leadership of the mayor, who together with LAP managed to see and visualize, a much more prosperous future for Melipeuco".
“Me Sumo” program is promoted through a public-private partnership between LAP and the Melipeuco Environment Unit, created to shape a system that enhances environmental education and management of the territory. Since 2022, it has allowed the realization of different projects that have contributed to the success of the communal recycling plan, such as the construction of recycling centers in schools and other sectors of the commune; the contribution to the creation of a communal composting plan that removes organic waste from 100 families through electromobility and the certification of 8 schools in the School Environmental Certification System of the Environment Ministry, SNCAE, during 2024.
Along these lines, the CEO of LAP, Esteban Moraga emphasize that "years ago we set ourselves the goal of being part of the communities through an environmental education model. Today it fills us with pride to see how all the seeds that were planted are bearing fruit. Benefiting almost 400 students since we started our scholarship program, together with the inauguration of this center, crowns all the management we have been carrying out hand in hand with the Municipality and the community, consolidating our focus on environmental education and motivating us even more to continue contributing to the growth of Melipeuco."
Click below to see images of the ceremony
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