Children with cerebral palsy

• Terpel has a program to donate gyms, physical therapy, groceries, and caregiver counseling to improve the living conditions and promote inclusion for children with cerebral palsy, in benefit to 700 people. 
• In Colombia there are close to 300,000 children with cerebral palsy.
• This donation is in addition to the organization’s many projects that confirm its commitment to being a Country Partner. In 2021, the company allocated 6.4 billion pesos to social investments.

In line with its purpose of being a Country Partner and being the supplier of the best energy for keeping people moving, Terpel - together with the Unidos para Sonreir Foundation - has set out to help children with cerebral palsy and their families. Through its program that provides 25 physical therapy gyms, 1,050 baskets of groceries, 1,062 hours of physical therapy training, and 1,062 hours of counseling for caregivers and family members, the company hopes to benefit 700 people in the different municipalities of Colombia.

The goal of the donation is to deliver tools the children and their families need to improve their quality of life and enhance their opportunities for development and wellbeing.

“We made the decision this year to not organize an event to launch our Sustainability and Management Report as we normally do. Instead, we allocated those resources to a social cause that will generate a greater benefit that’s more sustainable over time. It’s a contribution that will leave a footprint and have a positive impact on the lives of this vulnerable population group. We hope it will be transformational in the lives of the children and their families,” stated Daniel Perea, Vice President of Corporate Affairs at Organización Terpel.

According to the figures of the Unidos para Sonreir Foundation, there are close to 300 thousand children in Colombia with cerebral palsy. The majority receive inadequate physical therapy, increasing their risk of death. Their main caregivers are their mothers, who often give up their jobs to dedicate their time to their children, which has an impact on their family’s finances and increases poverty rates among this population group.

“We’re creating opportunities for a real transformation in everything from physical therapy to counseling and groceries, and that’s the path to changing a lot of lives in the short, medium, and long term. The joint work with Terpel is going to impact more than 700 lives this year and that fills us with gratitude and satisfaction,” commented Lina Maria Camargo, co-founder of Unidos para Sonreir.

This donation is in addition to a variety of initiatives by Organización Terpel as a Country Partner to support the medical brigades of the Colombian Air Patrol, and its Restoring Dreams program to help former combatants with their productive projects. In 2021, the organization allocated 6,421 million pesos for social investment in different communities to keep Colombians on the move and promote their development.