Aurora Sampol, a graduate in social education, and Cati Miralles, a psychologist, are two of the captains of Fundació Mallorca Integra, an initiative that was born in 2018 as a result of the professional concerns of three people from the fields of psychology, social education and sport. When, sharing their experiences, they realized that there were many needs in the world of sport for people with intellectual functional disabilities, they decided to get to work and meet them.
Five years after starting their journey, Aurora and Cati transmit the same enthusiasm that pushed them to begin in the first place. "In the world of people with functional intellectual disabilities there are very few resources, and those that exist are quite expensive. Not everyone can have access to them, so we want to be able to provide that opportunity. That is our mission.
With this clear and firm purpose, both lead a foundation that has not stopped growing since it launched its first project, a sports initiative for people aged 16 and over. Currently, there are seven members that form a multidisciplinary team working in unison for the same cause.
It all started with a project focused on soccer, but soon expanded to basketball, paddle tennis, swimming, multisport... and they decided to become a foundation to work for integration through sport and quality leisure time. Their values? Solidarity, respect, transparency and passion, an overwhelming passion for their work which they transmit when they speak from experience and honesty.
"In the end, we are a tool for them to get to know each other, make friends, stay beyond the activity and socialize within their neighborhood. We have detected a lot of loneliness".
In the beginning, they evolved organically because, they reflect, "we started from necessity, so the response was quick and aroused a lot of interest".They made their proposal known and word of mouth did the rest. Since then, they have continued with their sports program -now for boys and girls from the age of 8 with intellectual diversity, developmental disorder and autism spectrum disorder-, a program in the prison (which has been at a standstill since the health pandemic) and a pilot project for homeless people, which served twenty-four people during a year. Creating opportunities, that's what it's all about.
In addition, its cultures, sports and events program Mou-te is focused on the elderly and aims to be a space that not only promotes a healthy lifestyle, but also a meeting place in different neighborhoods of Palma. "In the end, we are a tool for them to get to know each other, make friends, stay beyond the activity and socialize within their neighborhood. We have detected a lot of loneliness," says Aurora.
Another very special initiative is the Espai Xavi Torres, a project created at the suggestion of the Mallorcan Paralympic swimmer. "Xavi was called from many places to give talks and make school visits, and it was terrible for him not to be able to attend many of the received requests", so they decided to join forces and now Mallorca Integra assumes the task to have days in which they explain functional diversity. They address issues such as the implications in the development of daily activities and the way we should talk about it."Then we do an awareness-raising workshop through adapted sports to reflect on accessibility. In the end it is a question of empathy. "To ask ourselves," says Aurora, "how do you do it and how does a person with a disability do it?"
The conference has also incorporated an educational game that deals with terminology and invites us to reflect on the vocabulary we use. Language changes at the pace at which a society transforms, so we must review and update our way of referring to people with functional diversity. "We should say, always, a person with a disability because this is a characteristic, not the essence. It does not define the person."
"We jump into a pool without water because we think we should do it and assume so".
In 2023 they started working with people with mental health problems two days a week. They carry out activities with inpatients to promote an active lifestyle at the Hospital Psiquiàtric de Palma thanks, to a large extent, to the Medical Association, which has supported them through a grant. The viability of the programs depends not only on good will and impetus, but also on funding.
Mallorca Integra works thanks to public and private subsidies, contributions from companies and membership fees, which can be as low as 50 euros a year. Everyone contributes with what they can, the important thing is that they feel part of a common goal. To this end, Cati explains that "we invite members and companies to come and see the programs in person. Why not? They can come and watch a basketball game, participate and see what it is we do".
They currently have seventy individual members and about a dozen public and private collaborating entities. With what they raise, they serve three hundred users among the different programs. And they don't intend to stop there. "We don't have a limit: we detect a need and we go for it. We want to serve everyone. The truth is that we don't have to go through many layers to make decisions, like other large entities, so it's hard for us to filter. We go get the money and go get it done. "The rest happens thanks to the invaluable help of twelve volunteers who participate in the sports programs."They get very involved, they work very hard."
Since Mallorca Integra was set up as a foundation, they haven't stopped for a moment. They always have something in mind because, as they recognize, although "in the medium term we always think of consolidating what we have in place, new needs arise and we just go for them". They even tackle projects before getting the grant. "We jump into a pool without water because we think we have to do it and take it on." The next challenge? Maybe unclogging an idea that has been stuck and intended to walk, in a kind of tricycle, elderly people. A way to give company to people who often spend too much time alone. "We want them to participate in events and popular festivals, go for a walk, have a coffee... and it also promotes sustainable mobility!".
In 2022, Fundació Mallorca Integra won the Vicente del Bosque Award for its involvement in the Mallorca International Football Cup, a recognition that, they say, they did not expect and that really moved them. The awards are symbolic, yes, but they also make their work visible and give value to the effort of those who, in this case, have seen in sport a way to work on inclusion, raise awareness and create safe meeting places. Necessary and essential places where we all have a spot.
