Education Colombia Project #27015

The School of our Dreams

by Fundacion ABLE

Summary

This project will build the first K-12 bilingual school for the children of Siloe, Cali, Colombia. Its impact will extend to 1000 low-income families within the community. Our school started 7 years ago, with a small house serving 45 primary school students. Today, our student population has grown to 250, surpassing the capacity of our current location. The School of our Dreams will reach out to 1000 students who will have access to quality education to equip them to make their dreams come true.

$1M
total goal

$975,119
remaining

137
donors

9
monthly donors

6
years

Challenge

Bilingualism and high quality education in Colombia is only an impossible dream for low income populations. A bilingual school costs as much as a monthly minimum wage for an average Colombian citizen. The founders of this project grew up in Siloe, a suburban area of Cali, where only 2% of its youth go to college and half the students who start primary school make it through high school. Lack of educational opportunities translate into the perpetuation of the cycle of poverty in the community.

Solution

We founded an elementary school that provides access to affordable quality education to underserved children in Cali. It prepares students with XXI century skills and knowledge for only USD$25 a month. Our school serves today 250 students and their families. Thanks to this project they will be able to continue their middle and high school education with us in a top-notch eco friendly school campus and we will be able to serve 4 times the number of students we have enrolled today.

Long-Term Impact

This project has a strong impact both locally and in a country level. First, it will reduce the school dropout rate that puts hundreds of children in the community at risk, instead we will have a handful of youth well prepared for life's challenges. Besides, it will be a proven sustainable model of education that we can replicate in other places of the country. We dream of a network of bilingual schools for low-income families in Colombia and this is the first step to make that dream come true.