At Fundación Celta, we want to highlight and applaud the solidarity commitment of the Celta supporters’ group “Cuadrilla de Pepa a Loba” from Muros (A Coruña), which has maintained a strong bond with the indigenous community of Totora-K in the Potosí region of Bolivia for more than twenty years. This group, chaired by Santiago Vázquez Maceiras and composed of approximately 240 members, has demonstrated how football can be a tool for social transformation.

The origins of this solidarity project date back to the late 1990s. After an episode of violence outside the stadium, some group members decided that it was necessary to “humanize football.” It was then that, thanks to the testimony of the Muradán missionary Francisco Duber Novo, who has been evangelizing and supporting the Totora-K community since 1962, the group found a cause to commit to.

Since then, the “Cuadrilla de Pepa a Loba” has sent an average of €6,000 every two years (€3,000 annually, even reaching €5,000 in 2019), with which crucial advances have been achieved for educational and social development in the area. Among their main achievements are:

– The construction of a boarding school with two buildings that house around fifty indigenous students. Before its existence, many children had to walk more than 8 kilometers to attend class.

– The improvement of the energy supply, moving from conventional generators to a solar panel system, which reduced costs and improved the sustainability of the facility.

– The creation of a school library, which has facilitated access to educational materials and study spaces.

– The improvement of the energy supply, moving from conventional generators to a solar panel system, which reduced costs and improved the sustainability of the facility.

– The group’s support has been key to reversing high absenteeism and enabling young people from the community to progress toward high school studies and even attend university — something unimaginable just two decades ago.

From Fundación Celta, we express our deep appreciation to the “Cuadrilla de Pepa a Loba” group for turning the Celta spirit into a force for international solidarity. This type of initiative reinforces the values of cooperation and respect promoted by Fundación Celta.