Restore the right to quality education in Colombia

With the new school year in full swing students and teachers in the Egipoto neighborhood are optimistic about the return of Circulos para ENprender. The educational community -including parents- hopes that with the suport of donors like you the project can return to their vulnerable neighborhood. 

Luz Dary Rojas, a Teacher Trainer from Fundación Escuela Nueva (FEN) worked on this project through-out its implementation. She explained, “One of the great challenges in Círculos para ENprender is to rescue the essence of childhood.  Most of the children have had to grow up quickly because of circumstances brought on by extreme poverty, such as working as young as 10, abuse, violence, and drugs. As a result, youth are exceptionally resistant to change and at risk of being trapped in the cycle of poverty.”

According to her, the goal of this program is to promote a change in the mentality of the young people living in places like the Egipto neighborhood. The work of FEN has proved its effectiveness by cultivating life skills, such as healthy decision making ability, co-operative problem solving, and self-esteem improvement among these students. 

“We have shown that the welcoming and friendly atmosphere of Círculos, helped kids to bring out the child inside them, and allow them to believe in a positive life. We can make the change when we believe in them, when they feel they are an important part of a society, and society can benefit from them. Ultimately Círculos offers new opportunities,” reported Luz Dary.

Case studies and qualitative evaluations have demonstrated that FEN's approach is sustainable. FEN focuses on spaces near students’ houses, and invests in the development of local stakeholders to facilitate change and become life-long leaders. According to the evaluation of the implementation of Círculos para ENprender in Egipto, children improved their levels of self-esteem and democratic behavior especially with greater appropriations of the instruments of student government.

In the Colombian context this critical as the country is experiencing significant momentum on the road to peace. FEN’s work in comprehensive education reform enables children to develop social skills to transform their lives and community, which ultimately is the key to creating engaged citizens and constructing peace.

After 12 months of work, our program Círculos para ENprender in Bogota's Egipto neighborhood has slowed due to lack of funding. The project in the Egipto neighborhood impacted over 60 children. Unfortunately with our current limited resources we can no longer support this critical initiative.

This new scenario has been very difficult for the entire educational community. Laura Moreno, Director of the Foundation Egipto con Futuro, where Círculos para ENprender has been implemented, expressed: “There are many reasons why we want this program to continue! It’s a program that offers comprehensive education and changes the lives of very vulnerable children.. This program helps us to create “society”, starting from the children. Tools like the Student Government or the Plan Gestor Humanizador are very important to our children.

In Egipto, FEN made positive gains in increasing students’ motivation, parent involvement, and reducing the dropout rate. Teachers received training to help children cope and overcome the emotional trauma, develop fundamental life skills to make healthy decisions, and cultivate their capacity for leadership. Students thrive in a democratic learning environment, where they are treated as capable actors in their education and life, and realize their power to improve their community. For example, Laura Moreno shares the story of Pablo*: “He used to have very violent attitudes. Once, he tried to burn down a classroom and he also had suicidal thoughts. In Círculos para ENprender he began having different attitudes and now he is very motivated, he is a leader. The program taught him that he was a leader and that other people can follow him for his ideas.

The school year is coming to a close, and FEN looks forward to swift return to Egipto after an important fundraising campaign during this year’s end. In order to achieve our funding goals, we modified our budget so we can restart the project and return happiness and to this group of children.

¡Your contribution will promote this shift toward peace for Colombia’s youth!

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