Redefining Community Development in Puerto Rico

In our Intelligent Relationships program we provide our participants with healthy life skills, tools that transform their interpersonal relationships, specifically their relationships. Our approach is aimed at setting and prioritizing your goals intelligently. Our work is focused on prevention through goal setting. The success of the program is demonstrated when young people complete their studies, acquire economic stability, either with a profession or occupation and when they decide, establish a committed relationship before assuming the responsibility of having children. Our program encourages students to build a healthy, successful and violence-free life project.
Our goal for this year was to graduate 1,025 participants from various municipalities in Puerto Rico including  Aibonito, Barranquitas, Cayey, Ceiba, Fajardo and Humacao. At the end of the implementation, not only was the goal achieved, but it was surpassed. A total of 1,051 participants were impacted by taking at least one lesson, of which 1,030 students successfully completed the entire program and graduated.

One of our success stories is the following as told by a program facilitator:  “Among the achievements of the implementation I can mention that I had a participant who was facing various situations at home, including his parents' divorce. The situation caused the young man to become withdrawn and shy, to the point that exposure to groups made him very nervous. The young man could not show up on the first day, since on the way to take the workshops he got sick to his stomach, due to the nerves that this process caused him. The next day, I had the opportunity to introduce myself as a facilitator and receive him with enthusiasm and empathy, his behavior changed significantly. The young man little by little managed to integrate, he was able to share with his classmates and participate in group activities. I had the opportunity to talk with his grandmother who seemed happy and very grateful. Stories like these give us the impulse to move forward, since we are fulfilling our goal of transforming lives.”