Enrique Figaredo Alvargonzalez
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Enrique Figaredo (born 21 September 1959) is a Jesuit priest and the Apostolic Prefect of Battambang, known as the Bishop of the Wheelchairs for his humanitarian assistance in
Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...
.


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 The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
's School in Gijon, Colegio de la Inmaculada, and graduated in 1976. On 15 October 1979, he joined the Jesuit Novitiate. He has a degree in economics, Theology and Philosophy. In 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 A land mine, or landmine, is an explosive weapon often concealed under or camouflaged on the ground, and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets as they pass over or near it. Land mines are divided into two types: anti-tank mines, whic ...
. He also cooperates with the
International Campaign to Ban Landmines The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) is a coalition of non-governmental organizations whose objective is a world free of anti-personnel mines and cluster munitions, where mine and cluster munitions survivors see their rights res ...
, which was awarded the Peace
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...
. 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 A land mine, or landmine, is an explosive weapon often concealed under or camouflaged on the ground, and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets as they pass over or near it. Land mines are divided into two types: anti-tank mines, whic ...
receive education and people with disabilities can make
wheelchairs A wheelchair is a mobilized form of chair using two or more wheels, a footrest, and an armrest usually cushioned. It is used when walking is difficult or impossible to do due to illnesses, injury, disabilities, or age-related health conditions ...
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 A cluster munition is a form of air-dropped or ground-launched explosive weapon that releases or ejects smaller submunitions. Commonly, this is a cluster bomb that ejects explosive bomblets that are designed to kill personnel and destroy vehi ...
Campaign.


Dance Tours

Dance tours have been an initiative fostered by Figaredo in order to promote Cambodia, its culture and its reality.El grupo camboyano Tahen actúa el lunes en el Centro Asturiano
''El Comercio Digital''. 04.10.2008 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 A land mine, or landmine, is an explosive weapon often concealed under or camouflaged on the ground, and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets as they pass over or near it. Land mines are divided into two types: anti-tank mines, whic ...
and
cluster bombs A cluster munition is a form of air-dropped or ground-launched explosive weapon that releases or ejects smaller submunitions. Commonly, this is a cluster bomb that ejects explosive bomblets that are designed to kill personnel and destroy veh ...
or who suffer from
poliomyelitis Poliomyelitis ( ), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe ...
). 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 ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
,
Valladolid Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...
, Gijon,
Oviedo Oviedo () or Uviéu (Asturian language, Asturian: ) is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain and the administrative and commercial centre of the region. It is also the name of the municipality that contains th ...
,
Alicante Alicante (, , ; ; ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean port. The population ...
,
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
,
Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...
,
Córdoba Córdoba most commonly refers to: * Córdoba, Spain, a major city in southern Spain and formerly the imperial capital of Islamic Spain * Córdoba, Argentina, the second largest city in Argentina and the capital of Córdoba Province Córdoba or Cord ...
,
Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...
and
Badajoz Badajoz is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain. It is situated close to the Portugal, Portuguese Portugal–Spain border, border, on the left bank of the river ...
.


Prizes and awards

Alvargonzalez has received numerous prizes and awards for his humanitarian work in Cambodia. These include the Grand Cross of Civil Order of Social Solidarity, awarded by the Spanish government and the ''Golden Amuravela'', a prize granted every year by the Friends of Cudillero Association.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Figaredo, Enrique 1959 births Living people People from Asturias Cambodian Roman Catholics 20th-century Spanish Jesuits Colegio de la Inmaculada (Gijón) alumni Disability rights activists