Fundación de Promoción Humana

The history of the Fundación de Promoción Humana can be traced to the concern of the staff and administration of the Gimnasio Campestre, a private high school for the élite of Bogotá. In order to give something back to the community, the Campestre decided to create a program for the families and children of the poor shantytown that had recently grown on the mountains above the north of the city. The Fundación de Promoción Humana is the result of that initiative.

Promoción Humana works on five levels in the community.

1. Drop-out prevention project. Since research in Colombia has shown a high correlation between dropping out of school and youth violence and homelessness, the Fundación focuses its attention on keeping young children in school. Before and after school, 3 teachers, one assistant, and several volunteers help sixty children with their homework, teach reading and writing, and provide the materials necessary to do homework (pens, markers, paper, etc.) The children are divided by grade into 7 groups. Reading comprehension is one of the most important parts of the learning process, because the Fundación discovered that even children who could read were incapable of understanding what their had sounded out.
2. Learning Acceleration. Many children who now live in the community have spent some time on the street or have already dropped out of school. This program catches them up with their class and gives them the emotional and personal tools necessary to return to school. This program also includes broader education in life skills, including sexuality and health (provided in collaboration with the government program “Pro-Familia.”)
3. “Youth for change.” This program prepares young teens to think about their futures, with job training and education in how the job market works, Promoción Humana has found the program very successful with 12-14 year olds, but once adolescents are expected to earn money for their families, many move into the informal sector of the economy instead of preparing for better paying and harder to get jobs.
4. School for women. In the past, this program has been fundamental to the work of the Fundación, using it to teach economic and personal skills to the mothers of children that participate in the program. However, educators have become concerned that the mothers have become overly dependent on the classes, so the Fundación is working to transform the program so that women with more experience can learn to teach their peers.
5. Grandparents’ Club. This program continues the commitment of the Gimnasio Campestre. Students from the high school gather food from friends and families, then distribute it to the elderly people in the poor community served by the Fundación. The Fundación recognizes that the program is “completely asistencialista,” but it continues it as a way to teach rich children about their social responsibilities and that their actions can make a difference for people.

All of these programs are based in a community center where the poor neighborhood meets the richer avenues of north Bogotá. In addition to providing the above services, the Fundación also provides free legal and medical services, workshops for parents, and food for the children that participate in the first three programs. Every Friday, the children go to the Gimnasio Campestre to use the sports facilities (fields, courts, etc); in addition to integrating the children with children from other social classes, the activity teaches children to use their free time. Other activities include going to plays and concerts so that children can learn to take advantage of all that Bogotá has to offer.

Fundación Alfonso Canas Morales para la Promoción Humana
Av. 7 No 162-56
Bogotá, Colombia

Tel: 671 6585 or 671 72 82

Contact: Catalina Lema Henessey, Directora Ejecutiva, catalema@cable.net.co