Empowering Women Through Football in Colombia

From all of us here at Children Change Colombia, we want to thank youfor your decision to support us in carrying out this important project for children in Colombia. 

This report covers the period of July 2022 to January 2023. In terms of context,some participants have been affected by the conflict dynamics. Although the conflict persists in Acadesan and some armed groups are located in the area, the project activities were deveoped normally. During this period the communities of Noamaná and Bebedó participated in the project.

During this period, the project was developed in two out of the educational entities estimated - Noanamáand Bebedó . Among all the posible participants in the project, 323 children were direct beneficiaries. Initially, the project estimated 100would be the direct children beneficiaries from the project. This represents an increase of almost 133% of the overall participation.

Achievements and Outcomes:

100% of the teachers acquired better knowledge about the design of pedagogical strategies that strengthen the socio-emotional competencies of students.

94% of the student groups from the two educational institutions implemented strategies that promote socio-emotional skills towards the protection of the territory.

two educational institutions within the ACADESAN territory are advancing in the transition from PEI (Institutional educational project) to PEC (community educational project) through the comprehensive analysis of the territory.

Activities:

Two-day virtual training on teaching skills: A two-day training workshop was held with the principals and teachers' representatives with the aim of reflecting on the role of education in society and the teachers expressed their points of view. On the second day, the theme of socio-emotional competencies was developed. The attendees were contextualized about the purpose of the project and the activities carried out in the two focused institutions. The workshop ended with the evaluation and recommendations for the next workshops.

Abrazos musicales: "musical hugs":Being seated in circles, the students were called to hug any classmate. Everyone had to find a partner to give them a hug. In case they didn't find a classmate to hug, they would stop the game. The activity promoted social relationships and strengthened the ties of belonging and interaction between children.

Community meeting: "Uniting family ties":This activity was planned for families in the community and many members participated.The aim was to share the project with all the community and get to know the participant's opinion on it. A boyshared his experiencesduring the process and a woman expressed words of gratitude for theactivities carried out which have benefitted their children.

Awareness and brainstorming sessions:During October, two raising awareness sessions were carried out for Directors and Teachers. These sessions aimed to raise awareness on the need to incorporate socio-emotional competencies into their classroom strategies. The socio-emotional competencies component was conceptualized. Finally, the meeting memebers analyzed the educational working environment and what they consider has to change towards enhancing it.

We're very grateful of all the donations that have been directed to this project. Your support has helped the lives of countless children in Colombia, and for that, we cannot thank you enough.