Alis is a project that aims to shed light on the experiences of young girls in Colombia who have been part of the foster care system due to violence, poverty, drug use, or homelessness. Our goal is to create a safe space where these girls can belong after leaving the system. We have established a club-house that offers emotional and professional support to help them start a new life, pursue education and employment opportunities.
According to the ICBF (Colombian family welfare institute), there are currently 251.455 teenagers that depend of the Colombian foster care system. Once they turn 18, they will have to leave the institution a process known to have negative effects on the teenager's wellbeing because of the fear, anxiety, lack of opportunities, and stigmatization they will face. With no proper social inclusion practices, most of these teenagers return to the dynamics of the street as their only alternative.
We seek to work with these adolescents in order to prepare them to leave the institution, and to create a process in which they can benefit from social inclusion practices once theyre independent. The project is based on artistic and sports projects, that help the teenagers acquire skills related to: mental health, skills development, human rights and peace building. We also offer leadership education, legal advice, workshops to mitigate emotional stress, and guidance for social inclusion.
The project wants to create a seamless transition between what teenagers live in the foster care centers and life once they are out of them. The objective is to offer a real formative process that allows them to have a different lifestyle once they leave showing them they are full of new opportunities to get ahead both professionally and personally. And in overall reducing the likelihood of them going back to the practices that brought them into the system.
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