• - The Bogotá Contigo - Ciudad Compasiva Program led by the Keralty Foundation and the New Health Foundation present these awards in an act that will be carried out at Casa Ensamble, with the presence of the community from Teusaquillo neighborhood.
• - The event, which starts at 6:00 p.m. This Monday, August 6, will have as its closing ceremony the "Con-Pasión" Concert, by the group Panga Nébula.

Bogota, August 2018. Seven institutions, entities and social groups in the Colombian capital that have supported over the last year the birth of the Bogotá Contigo - Ciudad Compasiva Program, and that with their contribution have achieved that nearly 1,200 people in the sector have joined the nearly 40 awareness workshops that have been carried out for the formation of social and community support networks, will receive this Monday recognition in the category of Committed Actors that will be delivered by the Keralty Foundation, the New Health Foundation and the Bogotá Contigo - Ciudad Compasiva Program.

In a ceremony that will be held at Casa E, starting at 6:00 in the afternoon of this Monday, August 6, and in which the presence of about 350 residents of the Teusaquillo neighborhood is expected, the Bogotá Contigo - Ciudad Compasiva Program, the Keralty Foundation and the New Health Foundation will also award the distinction as Compassionate Centers, to four health institutions that have worked in the Colombian capital to guarantee a humane and compassionate accompaniment to all those people (children, youth, adults or elders) who are faced with end-of-life situations due to a terminal illness or dependency due to a disabling chronic disease and their families, thus achieving a network that cares for and accompanies them.

The program promotes compassion, understood as the action of mobilizing ourselves to help, in the most appropriate way, those who need support.

The formal act, for which entry is provided at no cost to people interested in attending and learning what Compassionate Cities are in the world and how to join the Bogotá Contigo - Ciudad Compasiva Program, will also present, for the closing, the Concert Con-Pasión, by Panga Nébula, a group from Bogota that defines itself as "a musical bridge, where the voice of Daia Mutis, with folkloric details inspired by bullerengue, dialogues with the melodies of Orlando Donado, impregnated by the sounds of music settled in the territories of the Pacific and Caribbean Sea, island music, bosanova and trip-hop rhythms ".

THE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

In the category of Committed Actors, two foundations, two groups of collectives, a community media outlet, a local cafe-restaurant that has provided its facilities, and a national health and wellness magazine will receive recognition.

The entities highlighted in this category are the Red de Vida Foundation, whose work focuses on helping children in a high state of vulnerability; the Lazos Humanos Foundation, whose focus is on caring for the elderly and training caregivers; the Teusaquillo "Me Importa" group, which integrates, summons and promotes initiatives that benefit the sector on Facebook; the local newspaper Magazín Parkway, which also publishes the activities of this neighborhood; the "14 Lobos" collective, a group of students who carry out artistic and social activities and who have put them at the service of people who need accompaniment; the Kapira restaurant, which has permanently provided its facilities for holding workshops, talks and program activities; and the Bienestar Sanitas Magazine, which has supported and promoted the Bogotá Contigo - Ciudad Compasiva initiative.

In the Compassionate Centers category, the Present Palliative Care Unit will receive recognition, an institution that provides comprehensive and active care to patients with advanced cancer and non-cancer terminal diseases, also providing support to their families, and providing a continuous care that addresses medical, emotional and spiritual needs, with the purpose of alleviating suffering and improving quality of life.

Likewise, the Sanitas EPS Extramural Care Unit, which is responsible for the home care of patients facing terminal illnesses and which in July received the New Palex accreditation as a certified institution in Palliative Care by the New Health Foundation; Colsanitas Clinic, which also advances its accreditation in Palliative Care in coordination with Bogotá Contigo - Ciudad Compasiva; and Sanitas EPS, which in its role as a health insurance has also committed to the implementation of processes to provide support to its members and their families who are going through this same type of situation.

BOGOTA CONTIGO CIUDAD COMPASIVA

Supported by the experience of the Contigo - Ciudad Compasiva Program that the New Health Foundation has implemented and promoted in Europe, the Keralty Foundation started the Bogotá Contigo - Ciudad Compasiva program in 2017, advancing the first phase of the program, the purpose of which is to sensitize communities, entities, institutions to motivate the formation of Support Networks that can offer their help in different aspects to patients who are faced with terminal illnesses and their families, as well as to patients with chronic diseases that lead to a condition of dependency.

In this first stage, the Committed Actors of the Bogota Contigo - Ciudad Compasiva Program have carried out around 35 awareness-raising actions, impacting around 1,200 people. At the end of the first semester of 2018, there were 25 centers, a group, ten collaborators that are part of this network of the Bogotá Contigo - Ciudad Compasiva program that was born in the Teusaquillo neighborhood and plans to expand throughout the city.

On August 10, the Keralty Foundation will launch the Ibagué Contigo - Ciudad Compasiva Program and hopes to reach more cities in Colombia in the coming years, in the spirit of achieving a more compassionate country.