AFACIDASE – Association of Families and Friends of Citizens with Difficulties to Adapt of Serra da Estrela
In 2000 moves were started towards the creation of an association that could respond to the needs felt by parents and families of children, young people and adults with disabilities in the municipality of Manteigas.
For the creation of the association, the impetus and encouragement brought by Encarna Pérèz Álvarez, responsible for the social department of the University of Salamanca-Spain, was very important. Knowing some cases of disability in Manteigas and finding out about the inexistence of any institution that would provide them with the necessary support, he did everything until he managed to meet with some parents to speak to them about the advantages of uniting and creating responses that served the interests of people with disability and their families.
That’s how our story started, leveraged by the University of Salamanca, which gave the first push and helped us to take the first steps in the constitution of AFACIDASE, an association that most families with this type of problem in their midst longs to accomplish.
Together for the same ideal, a group of parents (sets to work) goes to work determined to fight for equal opportunities, for the improvement of the quality of life and social inclusion of people with disabilities.
The association’s legal constitution happens on May 15, 2001, a date to be celebrated… always, as the hope for a better future for education and psychosocial well-being of people with disabilities and their families grew, driven by the tenacity of some good will!
Volunteering has always been present within AFACIDASE, but in the early days volunteering was the force that moved our work at all levels, as we left for this adventure without any financial resources.
AFACIDASE would come to be recognized as an IPSS – Private Institution of Social Solidarity in 2002 and to establish a protocol with Social Security for financial support to include 8 clients in a response from CAO – Center for Occupational Activities, in 2003.
AFACIDASE’s scope of action covers the entire region of Serra da Estrela.
