Genesis
Luís Torres, the founder and director of Genesis, was himself a street kid. His father was a bodyguard for Salvador Allende, and after the coup, he found himself a political orphan. When working with Hugo Ávila (now director of Educación para Todos), he decided to create an NGO to help street kids.
Genesis began with ten volunteers that used plazas and streets as “educational spaces.” They brought bread and coffee to the street and working kids of Pudahuel, a poor neighborhood north of Santiago, and began to create connections with them. During its first years, it recieved very little institutional support, but later a German development agency gave important monies.
The most important activity for Genesis in the last several years was a congress of several hundred working children. The program also conducts workshops in art, theater, and kites (a very important tradition for Chilean children) and continues with street outreach. None of the workers are paid. In order to expand, Genesis would have to ask for contracts with the National Minors’ Service, but Mr. Torres fears that would limit the program’s independence.
Four social work students from the Universidad Santo Tomás do field work with Genesis, and professors serve as advisors.
Luís Torres
Fundación Génesis
Cruz del Sur 8763-E
Pudahuel, Santiago, Chile
649 1833
09 270 2116 (celular)
ded@ia.cl
