The Bhima Sangha centre in Rivas-Vaciamadrid turns 20 with a party on Saturday, October 3, from 11:00 to 17:00, on Armando Rodríguez Avenue. It was the first building in the Community of Madrid where childhood programmes could be modified by the children themselves.
The Bhima Sangha children's centre in Rivas-Vaciamadrid celebrates its 20th anniversary in early October. The City Council has organised an anniversary party for Saturday, October 3, from 11:00 to 17:00, on Armando Rodríguez Avenue, s/n, with free entry.
The building opened in October 2006 and was the first reference centre for childhood in the region. It was also the first in the Community of Madrid where all programmes and services could be modified or designed by the children of the municipality.
Its name comes from a union of child workers in India. Ricardo García, director of the Department of Childhood and Youth from 2003 to 2007, explains the reason for the choice.
We thought it was important to give a children's centre a name that reminded us that not all girls and boys in the world have the same opportunities
The initiative was inspired by the book The City of Children, by Italian educator Francesco Tonucci, which asks the children of the city of Fano how they would like their municipality to be. The response was that they wanted to enjoy the same square metres as adults.
The project materialised in a building managed and exclusive for children. The night before the inauguration, the copper wiring was stolen, as García recalls, so they had to improvise the event without light.
At that time, half of the population of Rivas-Vaciamadrid was under 18, which led the City Council to deploy a programme of childhood and youth policies from birth to emancipation. This gave rise to forums, public hearings, and civil fostering.
Nahomi Fraguas participated in the first baby library of the centre and later became part of the Children's Forum until she was 12. From that time, she remembers the end-of-year overnight stay, the water jets, and the giant slide.
An educator at Bhima proposed that every adult who entered the centre should go down that slide at least once in their life. The party on October 3 will serve to continue playing and celebrating the 20th anniversary.
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