Fundación Occident and Manos Unidas: 20 Years of cooperation

"The two entities sign a new collaboration agreement on the 20th anniversary of the start of their relationship. "

In 2025, Fundación Occident signed a new collaboration agreement with Manos Unidas to build a primary school in Uganda. The two entities are also celebrating their 20-year relationship this year.

In an official event, Laura Halpern Serra, president of Fundación Occident, and Mireia Angerri, delegate president of Manos Unidas España, have ratified their good understanding with a new agreement to improve the educational conditions of a primary and infant school in the Kamwenge region of Uganda.

Although collaboration between both entities began in 2005 with contributions to different educational projects, affinity and synergies generated in the field of education have consolidated their relationship. This has led to the current situation, in which the Foundation fully finances projects, strengthening its role as a strategic partner and providing lasting solutions for the development of various communities in Africa.

During these two decades of continuous support for Manos Unidas' work on international cooperation projects, the main goal has been to guarantee quality education in areas with fewer resources and where the local community needs it most. Each of these educational projects is carried out in collaboration with a local partner, thereby ensuring more efficient execution that is adapted to the needs of this area.

In the words of Laura Halpern: “At Fundación Occident, we firmly believe that education in childhood and adolescence is the lever for change in society's development. This goal is embodied by collaboration with Manos Unidas, which facilitates our participation in projects that have broad support from local communities.”

Fundación Occident and its “Escuelas Jesús Serra” network

Since 2018, within the framework of the agreement with Manos Unidas, Fundación Occident decided to support the construction of educational infrastructures by taking a step forward, financing projects in their entirety in 2020. Manos Unidas has taught us about the reality of many countries, encouraging us to weave “Escuelas Jesús Serra”. The goal of this network, named in honour of the founder of the insurance group, is to promote education in complex environments.

The “Escuelas Jesús Serra” network currently comprises 6 educational centres in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Uganda (2) and Ghana (2).