Enrique Figaredo Alvargonzalez
Encyclopedia
Enrique Figaredo is a Jesuit priest and the Apostolic Prefect of Battambang
, known as the Bishop of the Wheelchairs for his humanitarian assistance in Cambodia
.
, and graduated in 1976. On 15 October 1979, he joined the Jesuit Novitiate. He has a degree in Economics, Theology and Philosophy.
On 1985, during his university studies, he volunteered for the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) and was sent to a Cambodian refugee camp in Thailand. He returned to Spain to finish his studies and to be ordained as a Jesuit priest in 1992, but then immediately went back to Cambodia,
, which was awarded the Peace Nobel Prize
. Figaredo has launched many initiatives to raise funds and help these victims.
In 1991, in Phnom Penh, he founded Banteay Prieb (“The Dove House”) where children maimed by landmines receive education and people with disabilities can make wheelchairs following the Mekong model (a wooden wheelchair with three wheels).
In Battambang he founded the “Arrupe Center” and promoted development all over the diocese with projects in education, vocational training for adults, infrastructure and relief aid.
Figaredo still takes part in Cambodia’s development by means of different NGOs and at present takes part in the Ban Cluster Bomb
Campaign.
). The last group is that made up of 10 musicians and 3 people for management and assistance.
Each performance included 6 or 7 traditional dances. In “The Blessing Dance” 7 dancers dressed up as apsaras (celestial nymphs) bless and thank the audience with delicate movements and flowers. The walls of the Angkor Watt hold evidence of the origins of this traditional dance in its reliefs. “The Coconut Dance”, “The Fish Dance” and “The Harvest Dance” reflect Cambodia’s traditions and everyday life. These are some of the dances of the 20 piece repertory of Tahen’s Dance Group.
The group held 17 performances in 12 different Spanish cities: Madrid
, Valladolid
, Gijon
, Oviedo
, Alicante
, Barcelona
, Zaragoza
, Córdoba
, Seville
and Badajoz
.
Apostolic Prefecture of Battambang
The Apostolic Prefecture of Battambang is a territorial subdivision of the Roman Catholic Church in Cambodia.The prefecture covers an area of 80,430 km² of north-western Cambodia, covering the provinces Battambang, Pursat, Kompong Chhnang, Kompong Thom, Siem Reap, Preah Vihear, Oddar...
, known as the Bishop of the Wheelchairs for his humanitarian assistance in Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
.
Family
Born to Alberto Figaredo, a member of an important industrialist family in the north of Spain, and Ana María Alvargonzález. Enrique was the seventh of eight children. He is the cousin of the Spanish politician Rodrigo Rato Figaredo.Education
Enrique attended the Jesuit’s School in Gijon, Colegio de la InmaculadaColegio de la Inmaculada (Gijón)
Colegio de la Inmaculada is a Catholic school for primary and secondary education run by the Jesuits in Gijón, Spain since 1890.-History:...
, and graduated in 1976. On 15 October 1979, he joined the Jesuit Novitiate. He has a degree in Economics, Theology and Philosophy.
On 1985, during his university studies, he volunteered for the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) and was sent to a Cambodian refugee camp in Thailand. He returned to Spain to finish his studies and to be ordained as a Jesuit priest in 1992, but then immediately went back to Cambodia,
Humanitarian Assistance
First in Thailand and later in Cambodia, Figaredo has dedicated his life to help people with disabilities, initially those maimed by landmines. He also cooperates with the International Campaign to Ban LandminesInternational Campaign to Ban Landmines
The International Campaign to Ban Landmines is a coalition of non-governmental organizations working for a world free of anti-personnel landmines and cluster munitions, where mine and cluster munitions survivors see their rights respected and can lead fulfilling lives.The coalition was formed in...
, which was awarded the Peace Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
. Figaredo has launched many initiatives to raise funds and help these victims.
In 1991, in Phnom Penh, he founded Banteay Prieb (“The Dove House”) where children maimed by landmines receive education and people with disabilities can make wheelchairs following the Mekong model (a wooden wheelchair with three wheels).
In Battambang he founded the “Arrupe Center” and promoted development all over the diocese with projects in education, vocational training for adults, infrastructure and relief aid.
Figaredo still takes part in Cambodia’s development by means of different NGOs and at present takes part in the Ban Cluster Bomb
Cluster bomb
A cluster munition is a form of air-dropped or ground-launched explosive weapon that releases or ejects smaller sub-munitions. Commonly, this is a cluster bomb that ejects explosive bomblets that are designed to kill enemy personnel and destroy vehicles...
Campaign.
Dance Tours
Dance tours have been an initiative fostered by Figaredo in order to promote Cambodia, its culture and its reality. It is also a means of raising funds for the aid and development projects in Cambodia. Up to date there have been three dance tours in the years 2000, 2005 and 2008.2008: Cambodia Within Reach
“Cambodia Within Reach” was the slogan adopted for the 2008 dance tour, in which “Tahen’s Dance Group” travelled throughout Spain for 6 weeks in September and October 2008. Tahen’s Dance Group is made up of 65 members and divides in 4 smaller groups. One group is made up of 14 dancers between 14 and 17 years old, another with 18 dancers between 18 and 20. A third group has 15 dancers from the Arrupe Centre for people with disabilities (maimed by landmines and cluster bombs or who suffer from poliomyelitisPoliomyelitis
Poliomyelitis, often called polio or infantile paralysis, is an acute viral infectious disease spread from person to person, primarily via the fecal-oral route...
). The last group is that made up of 10 musicians and 3 people for management and assistance.
Each performance included 6 or 7 traditional dances. In “The Blessing Dance” 7 dancers dressed up as apsaras (celestial nymphs) bless and thank the audience with delicate movements and flowers. The walls of the Angkor Watt hold evidence of the origins of this traditional dance in its reliefs. “The Coconut Dance”, “The Fish Dance” and “The Harvest Dance” reflect Cambodia’s traditions and everyday life. These are some of the dances of the 20 piece repertory of Tahen’s Dance Group.
The group held 17 performances in 12 different Spanish cities: Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, Valladolid
Valladolid
Valladolid is a historic city and municipality in north-central Spain, situated at the confluence of the Pisuerga and Esgueva rivers, and located within three wine-making regions: Ribera del Duero, Rueda and Cigales...
, Gijon
Gijón
Gijón , officially Gijón / Xixón, is a coastal industrial city and a municipality in the autonomous community of Asturias in Spain. Early mediaeval texts mention it as "Gigia". It was an important regional Roman city, although the area has been settled since earliest history...
, Oviedo
Oviedo
Oviedo is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain. It is also the name of the municipality that contains the city....
, Alicante
Alicante
Alicante or Alacant is a city in Spain, the capital of the province of Alicante and of the comarca of Alacantí, in the south of the Valencian Community. It is also a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city of Alicante proper was 334,418, estimated , ranking as the second-largest...
, Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, Zaragoza
Zaragoza
Zaragoza , also called Saragossa in English, is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain...
, Córdoba
Córdoba, Spain
-History:The first trace of human presence in the area are remains of a Neanderthal Man, dating to c. 32,000 BC. In the 8th century BC, during the ancient Tartessos period, a pre-urban settlement existed. The population gradually learned copper and silver metallurgy...
, Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
and Badajoz
Badajoz
Badajoz is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain, situated close to the Portuguese border, on the left bank of the river Guadiana, and the Madrid–Lisbon railway. The population in 2007 was 145,257....
.