By Valeria Rivas Rodriguez | Executive Manager
In 2025, Soroca directly accompanied 114 young people from Aguablanca District in Cali — a territory deeply affected by inequality, violence, and limited access to higher education. Of these participants, 60% were young women, 51% identified as Afro-descendant, and 24% were victims of armed conflict. More than 75% live in the city’s most vulnerable neighborhoods (Comunas 14 and 15), and nearly 30% come from households earning less than one minimum wage (less than 458 US a month). In this context, Soroca provides a four-year certified leadership and life-skills pathway in alliance with leading universities, combining socioemotional formation, psychosocial support, family engagement, and community action.
This year, our impact translated into concrete educational progress. In the fourth year of formation, 37 students graduated from high school, and 15 advanced into higher Education — enrolling in technical programs and university degrees in fields such as Industrial Engineering, Sociology, Nursing, and Media Production. Across the program, students completed hundreds of hours of certified formation, participated in 35+ structured training sessions, and received intensive psychosocial accompaniment. These milestones represent far more than academic success — they reflect resilience, expanded aspirations, and real alternatives to cycles of exclusion.
Beyond the classroom, Soroca strengthened families and communities. We worked directly with participants’ households (averaging 4.2 members each), offering workshops, home visits, and guidance on communication, adolescent health, conflict resolution, and financial management. Our community initiatives reached approximately 500 additional people, including a large Vocational Fair with 197 youth attendees and 30 cross-sector exhibitors, territorial social impact actions led by participants, and a community festival that gathered 100 families to celebrate shared growth and entrepreneurship.
Most importantly, transformation is visible in the voices of the young people themselves. Participants report improved emotional regulation, stronger self-awareness, and a deeper sense of authenticity and purpose. In well-being workshops, 100% of attendees recognized improvements in their self-care practices. Soroca is not simply preventing school dropout — it is cultivating a generation of courageous young leaders who are actively reshaping their future and their communities from within.
“We are between 12 and 17 years old, but it only took one year for us to realize that there is hope — and that being brave depends on us.”- Lara, 16 years old.
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