Give at-risk Colombian children a safe home

Starting the month of May, we love to greet you with a report of normality the activities carried out in the programs. It has been four months of reactivation of the training strategies for children, adolescents and youth from the dimensions of body, mind and spirit, according to the principles of our founder's SER Philosophy, which have made them feel very motivated and full of expectations. Thanks to your permanent support, they began their school, technical, and university year in February with their uniforms and necessary supplies for a good academic performance.

We are happy to share with you some special moments of this quarter:

• The Annual General Assembly was held on March 23, in which our General Director Diana Zamudio presented the results of 2021. With a total of 620 adolescent and young children living in the boarding programs, and 376 families, one of our main challenges for 2022 is to prioritize the family strengthening program to fortify the bonds affected during the pandemic.
• This past April 4th we participated in “Little by Little” Campaign. Thanks to our donors we raised $685 USD, plus an additional $287 USD matching from GlobalGiving, for a total of $972 USD. We are happy with the result of this joint effort, which ranked us number 202nd among 5,936 projects participating. The money raised will be used to renovate the crockery and much needed items of the dining room.
• Now that the city is up and running, we have taken advantage of the opportunities that different entities have offered us to take part in recreational and cultural activities outside the homes. As in Colombia, we celebrate Children's Month in April, they were invited to spend a day of total fun at the Mundo Aventura Park, the Universidad del Bosque prepared a cultural activity in which they toured the entire campus, the library and the zoo. They also had a snack and ended with a didactic film. Several restaurants that participated in the Burger Master annual contest, for the best hamburger in Bogotá, sent delicious hamburgers to our homes.
• The vegetable garden of the Nuevo Amanecer home, became a training space in which we want children to raise their awareness about the importance nature, and to reinforce their contact with it. Crops of lettuce, kale, coriander and other vegetables are already consumed in their daily meals. Each child is responsible for the care and growth process of their own seeds.
• We want to highlight the story of Christian, one of our young university students from the St. Patrick’s home. With a difficult family history of poverty and consumption, he joined the program 7 years ago. At the beginning, he had difficulties respecting authority figures, but with time and the support of the team, his responsible and collaborative temperament began to emerge. He finished high school, became a systems technician at SENA and little by little he focused on clear objectives of professional study. Today, he is in his sixth semester of Systems Engineering at the Catholic University and at the same time he works part-time at STT technology company. With his income, he helps his younger sister to finish her studies and he bought a motorcycle on credit to get around. He practices volleyball on weekends and his development has been very positive in all areas.
• In the context of the pre-electoral moment that our country is experiencing, we attended the Conversation "Childhood Does Not Wait" at the University of the Andes, in which the presidential candidates spoke with children from different regions of the country. On behalf of all the most vulnerable children in Colombia, they asked for actions to improve mental health, nutrition, malnutrition rates, and the improvement access to quality of education.

We are so thankful for your permanent commitment to make these results possible! We know that, with everyone's help, we can continue building a more just and inclusive country; in which the rights of children become a priority and to be able to continue meeting the needs of the most vulnerable, especially adolescents, who are most exposed to social risks if they do not have timely intervention.

On behalf of Papá Jaime, the entire team, and specially our children, receive our gratitude for your usual support and generous contributions.

All the best,

PATRICIA GONZALEZ

Community Relations Manager

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