Thanks to the collaborative work between Enel Distribución and TECHO-Chile
- The initiative is the result of an alliance between Enel Distribución and Fundación TECHO-Chile, which from now on allows families to have access to reliable and safe electric service.
Santiago September 4, 2021- Today, the "Techo Común" community centers were inaugurated in the Vicente Reyes and Luna de Haití camps in the Maipú district, as part of the launch of the "Energy Security in Camps" project, an initiative promoted by Enel Distribución and TECHO-Chile.
According to the latest National Camp Survey 2020-2021 of TECHO Chile and Fundación Vivienda, more than 81 thousand families live in camps, most of them without secure access to essential services such as water, sewage, and electricity. Of these families, only 40% have formal access to electricity, and about 1200 live in camps where there is simply no access to electricity.
The launch, which took place at the community headquarters of the Vicente Reyes camp in the Maipú district, was attended by Ramón Castañeda, general manager of Enel Distribución; Sebastián Bowen, executive director of TECHO-Chile; Vicente Stiepovich, social director of TECHO-Chile; and Yanett Roa and Axon Bysson, leaders of the Vicente Reyes and Luna de Haití camps, respectively.
The "Energy Security in Camps" project aims to promote sustainable and secure access to energy through new electricity connections through community and social support to the families of these settlements.
The Enel Distribución and TECHO initiative benefits almost 300 families in the Maipú district grouped in two camps -Vicente Reyes and Luna de Haití. The project seeks to accompany families on the road to formal access to electricity. By building two community centers called "Techo Común" (Common Roof), the project encourages community development, generates training opportunities to provide job skills among neighbors, and creates responsible consumption habits, risk prevention, and electrical safety.
"Through our alliance with TECHO-Chile, we have designed this project that today allows us to ensure a safe connection to the electricity grid for almost 300 families living in the Vicente Reyes and Luna de Haití camps in the Maipú district. This initiative is part of our commitment to the community that we hope to continue developing in future projects", explained Ramón Castañeda, general manager of Enel Distribución.
Access to reliable and safe energy service means new electricity connections in camps in the Metropolitan Region, reducing electrical risks for the community and promotes opportunities for equal access to energy in sectors with greater energy vulnerability. We hope to follow a path to formal access to electricity through social support and access to all the necessary information for a sustainable project.
"For us, what we are doing together with Enel Distribución, supporting common spaces for the communities -places where people can communicate and get to know each other- generates great value in the intervention we make. Without meeting and without links, it is impossible to generate more projects or more initiatives to emerge towards the community. Although we want the camps to end and only be a temporary solution, families must be able to have a more secure electricity supply," commented Vicente Stiepovich, Social Director of TECHO-Chile.
"The headquarters is critical to us because that's where we organize the meetings, and we bring out a lot of new projects. How can I not be happy? We have made so much progress with the camp. I used to leave my feet in the street to have water and electricity in the camp because that is the most important thing. So I am delighted and grateful to everyone at Techo-Chile and ENEL because they allowed us to have electricity in our homes. I'm also grateful to headquarters for carrying out our projects, meetings, and many other things, such as the common cooking pots, " said Jeannette Roa, the Vicente Reyes camp leader in Maipú.
Enel Distribución will also generate education related to energy efficiency, electrical risk prevention, and climate change. In addition, we will apply social intervention initiatives related to employability that focus on installing technical tools that allow autonomy to ensure the project's sustainability over time once both sites are delivered.