Beisboleritos (little baseballers) began in Medellin in 2009 as an initiative to counter the presence of illegal groups affecting children and adolescents in Colombia. These children become a target for illegal armed groups (guerrilla) through armed recruitment, making them child soldiers. Beisboleritos works in highly vulnerable communities to help children and adolescents develop and strengthen skills to resist and assertively respond to these threats. Info: info@gipcolombia.org
More than 5.7 million people have been internally displaced in Colombia as a result of the armed conflict. The children and adolescents selected for the program come from the areas affected by the conflict; this is a prerequisite for the selection of territories. The total population belongs to lower economic strata, benefiting internally displaced people. We have engage girls in the program. Approximately 50% of our participants are afro-descendants, a lower number are from indigenous groups.
The mission of Beisboleritos is to provide children and adolescents, tools for development and / or strengthening of their personal capacities, in order to respond to threats in the environment and build their life project in the framework of legality and the community. This is achieved with the construction of life analogies between the field and socialization environments, which allows participants to construct meaning of life and move the scenarios presented in the field to real life.
This is a quote from one of the participants: "Beisboleritos has helped me a lot to me and my family, we have worked the methodology to solve problems in our family by making analogies with baseball. One must be a person of integrity in baseball, in life and in the family, polishing the internal family diamond." The long-term effects is to be able to help as many children and their families through our program. Your help will support us to Hit a Home Run for Peace in Colombia.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
