Metropolitan House Foundation visits ONCE Catalunya, a European benchmark in the inclusion of people with visual impairments
The Metropolitan House Foundation and representatives of Metropolitan House visited the ONCE Territorial Delegation of Catalonia in Barcelona, the largest centre in Europe dedicated to the inclusion of blind people and those with severe visual impairments.
With more than 70,000 members across Spain —over 10,000 in Catalonia— ONCE’s mission is to guarantee personal autonomy and full social inclusion for blind people or those with severe visual impairments. It achieves this through a wide network of services in areas such as education, employment, rehabilitation, sport, culture, leisure and adapted technology.
Last Friday, the Metropolitan House Foundation, accompanied by a large group of employees from its parent company Metropolitan House, visited ONCE’s Territorial Delegation building in Barcelona, where they were welcomed by Enric Botí, ONCE’s Delegate in Catalonia. Botí gave a great presentation on the origins of the organisation, founded in 1938, and its continuous evolution and adaptation with a single goal: to improve the quality of life of blind people or those with severe visual impairments.
The Metropolitan House delegation then had the opportunity to learn more about some of the organisation’s most important services, such as the “Daily Living Apartment”, where members are trained to develop autonomy in household tasks like cooking, washing dishes or clothes and ironing..
They also visited the printing facilities, where all kinds of publications are transcribed into braille, and the ONCE Bibliographic Service, which makes more than 75,000 adapted works available in braille, with tactile illustrations and other inclusive techniques.
The visit concluded at the Educational Resource Centre, where professional teams support children and young people with visual impairments, as well as their families, in their educational and social integration process.
ONCE’s service model is unique worldwide and is made possible thanks to the solidarity of thousands of citizens who, every day, contribute through the purchase of the Organisation’s lottery products.
This visit is part of the solidarity activities that the Metropolitan House Foundation carries out periodically, in addition to the programs and social actions in which it collaborates