Cazuca Dreams On

In partnership with Comic Relief and Children Change Colombia, Tiempo de Juego is putting arts at the serive of girls suffering from gang conflict. This project is targeting girls in juvenile justice centres and care homes, using this as a window of opportunity to combine individual work focused on youth leadership & life skills through arts with a family focused intervention to reduce harms the girls are exposed to within gangs and where possible, reduce their risk of entering these situations.

In Colombia the problem of gangs is complex. ‘Gangs’ can range from small groups of teenagers committing petty crimes, to street gangs that deal drugs, run protection rackets and control territory, injuring or killing those that cross the ‘invisible borders’ that this creates, to the more organised networks of armed groups that many consider to be former paramilitary groups. Many street gangs work for or have to pay dues to these organised armed groups, so it is difficult to disentangle them. There is very little systematic information about the involvement of girls in these gangs. 

This project aims to prevent girls from becoming involved in gangs and, in circumstances where they are already part of a gang, to reduce the risks they are exposed to. This project is transforming the norms and stereotypes that justify violence, gang membership and negative role models, while working at both the individual and family level to promote positive youth leadership, understanding of rights, and protective environments within and outside the family.  

Thank you for your continuous help! Thanks to your support we're able to use arts as a transformative tool and provide new opportunities to girls! 

Cheers from Colombia,

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