Empower 40 Colombian kids in extreme poverty

Dear Donors,

with this report we would like to update all of you about our project in Colombia. These months has passed quickly, children have started to attend school lessons after the summer break and they have to get used to this routine. Most of the children that take part in the activities offered by the center come from vulnerable families with socio-economic problems, have lost their family or are ragged children. Every one of them has to face obstacles and challenges, but we are glad to share that all the children, boys and girls supported are in good physical health conditions.

After many years, learning meetings have been organized and they have been focused on specific topics, which are fundamental for the minors’ growth: for example, the first session has been dedicated to the family “as place where you can learn love, where you can grow and where people take decisions”; other meetings have been titled “Manejo de mis pensamientos” (“how to manage thoughts”) and “Reconciliarme con mi pasado” (“Make peace with my past”). Boys and girls had the possibility to make questions and to share their ideas, strengthening themselves as a group and as individuals.

This center is a very important place for many boys and girls in Tunja and all the courses offered are an extraordinary opportunity for them to acquire skills and competences really useful also in the word of work. Thanks to different training classes they can easily find a job and become more independent. However, the Colombian government has set new standard regarding structural characteristics of this kind of centers and regarding specific equipment that they have to provide. For these reasons, the center needs funds in order to renovate and expand the structure and to buy new equipment: till that moment, the center cannot be recognized by the government as a training center and cannot issue professional certifications to the young recipients. That’s why your support is so important!

Thanks to your help we will be able to ensure a better future for many girls and boys of Tunja!

Dear Donors,

Some months has passed since our last monitoring trip of January to Colombia, but our joint work with our local partners has never stopped. Our local representatives as well as NGOs and International Organizations’ data witness that despite being an upper-middle-income country, Colombia has to face different challenges from a social and economic point of view.

Advancing the peace process is among the Government’s main priorities. The Country faces a complex humanitarian situation, exacerbated by multiple emergencies triggered by increasing violence from non-state armed groups (NSAGs), often overlapping with extreme weather events, a mixed migration crisis, economic shocks of high inflation, currency devaluation and pandemic’s residual impacts. According to UN report published in May 2023, Colombia’s 50-year-long armed conflict resulted in 7.8 million internally displaced people (IDPs), while the country has also been the largest host for migrants from Venezuela.

43% of the Colombians lives under the poverty line and children and teenagers are the most fragile part of the population. Adolescents face multiple dimensions of vulnerability that threaten long-lasting consequences for themselves, their prospects for survival and living healthy lives and for their communities if not addressed urgently. Violence is often part of their everyday life and high rates of violence against children are also attributed to cultural influences, limited understanding among caregivers of affective non-violent disciplinary methods, weak government systems, corruption, organized crimes, narco-economies and urban marginalization.

In this general contest, Aleimar supports Hogar San Jeronimo center in Tunja, where children and teenagers can phyco-social support, education and training in a safe place and leaded by trusted educators. There minors can also take part in recreational and educational activities like sport and workshops. This makes them feel part of a community and allow them to express themselves in a constructive way. Thanks to your support all this is possible!

Thank you!