FUNDACION OTERO LIEVANO

To seek the mitigation of risk factors such as child labor, inequality and school dropouts of 40 girls and adolescents located in one of the poorest and most unequal departments of the country, Choco, in order to guide them in their formative and vocational process towards the STEAM areas so that they can develop a meaningful life project, be leaders and agents of change in their community. 

Child labor is a problem common to developing countries such as Colombia and that is why we intend to ensure that this project is replicated in areas afflicted by violence and thus quality education it is not a privilege for a few, but all children and adolescents in the world enjoy what rightfully corresponds to them 

According to a report delivered by the  ILO, by 2020, 160 million individuals aged 5 to 17 were working worldwide and, according to estimates, due to COVID-19, the number of working children and adolescents is expected to increase by 5% by the end of 2022. Developing countries such as Colombia build on to this problem. In the 4th quarter of 2020, according to data provided by the DANE, 523 thousand children and adolescents were exercising some type of work activity in the country, because of this, school dropouts are promoted since these individuals are forced to abandon their studies and dedicate their full time to work. In remote departments such as Chocó, according to the secretary of that region 2605 children left school in 2019 and this number is expected to increase due to the current pandemic. Gender inequality in terms of inclusion in STEM areas further prolongs the problem and forces girls and adolescents to focus their life project in areas where labor demand is not so high and therefore their income is low. 

In order to mitigate child labor, school dropouts and eradicate social and gender inequality, the Otero Liévano Foundation in conjunction with the organization Vive Bailando proposes to develop a model of social care in the municipality of Condoto (Choco) in which, through virtual workshops 

executed through video conferencing platforms such as Zoom, Teams and Meet which will be guided by a team based in Bogotá, we seek to serve our beneficiaries through 3 development axes: 

• Psychosocial: Through individual counseling and group workshops, we aim to promote mental and emotional health, working on aspects such as: Regulation of behavior and ability to identify risk factors, Development of socio-emotional competencies, life skills and construction of the life project, Resilience and self-knowledge of the socio-affective state. 
• Pedagogical: The aim is to strengthen the academic performance of the beneficiaries, support special needs and provide spaces that promote autonomy and creativity. 
• Vocational: We seek to train our beneficiaries in STEAM areas so that they can guide their life project in future careers with wide demand in the labor market. 

According to the World Bank, one of the mechanisms to eradicate poverty in the world is quality education, with the arrival of COVID 19 access to it is even more restricted, additional, the low internet coverage in the department, makes the situation even more difficult, affecting more than 104 thousand Chocoan students who in addition to not having connectivity to enter their virtual classes, do not have adequate guidance from their tutors due to the illiteracy that for years has dominated the region and causes many of these children to present learning difficulties. For all the above, the Otero Liévano and Vive Bailando Foundations seek to provide a virtual space in which 40 girls and adolescents in the area benefit from a set of integral accompaniments in different dimensions of the human being to mitigate child labor and school dropouts and meet the needs that have arisen due to the pandemic.

The Equitable Classrooms challenge is directly aligned to the foundation project as it seeks to create spaces that generate ideas and strengthen quality education by implementing digital media and software available in vulnerable communities. Like Mit Solve we work in favor of the community, so we seek to mitigate social problems that affect these areas and support future entrepreneurs in the country by orienting their life project to STEAM areas and thus, close gender gaps and promote social equity

Currently, we have been developing the project with vulnerable communities located in two strategic areas such as the town of Suba in Bogotá and the municipality of Piedecuesta in Santander. Our main objective is to increase this population and reach territories with high level of vulnerability, taking this into account, we have chosen the municipality of Condodo, Choco. Since we consider that their needs are adjusted and can be supplemented by our social model of intervention.

The fact previously defined, regarding the lack of gender equality in STEAM career professionals and the opportunity to reach out to region of Colombia booming in cultural familiarity, will enable us an edge in the learning of abilities through arts and the extensive care put in practice. This way we’ll increase the awareness of STEAM and also performance during future studies, for the population involved in our project through the virtual methodologies in practice.

To date, we assist 333 girls and adolescents located in the town of Suba, Bogotá and the municipality of Piedecuesta, Santander. Our purpose is to multiply this figure and reach more vulnerable populations, it is for this reason that we plan to serve 380 beneficiaries in a year and more than 500 in 5 years.

Through an extensive strategic measurement process that allows us to collect data and analyze it comparatively with Colombia´s framework. This way we are able to keep information of the impact but also track the behavior of the wide indicators used, so development can be taken into account when deciding adjusting actions.

Not stablished yet, but approximately will be working: 

Full Time:

1 Project Director

2 Phycological Professionals

2 STEM Professionals  

In addition to more than 60 years of uninterrupted management, the Otero Liévano Foundation and Vive Bailando have extensive experience in everything related to the execution of social projects. In partnership with renowned entities such as Bolívar Davivienda and Sura, we have managed to benefit girls and adolescents in Suba, Bogotá and Piedecuesta, Santander by providing them with services focused on 5 axes of integral development:

· Axis of well-being and nutrition:

· Psychosocial axis: We promote mental and emotional health.

· Spiritual axis:

· Pedagogical axis

· Vocational axis

As for today we already promote in our teams inclusivity, diversity and equity. Currently, 82% of the organization's staff is made up of women, 4 hold managerial positions and 6 of them went through the programs offered by the Foundation empowering their life project leading to their labor inclusion. We keep these good practices along all of our projects development.

The knowledge that will be able to rely on if we are selected, will allow us to sort out the obstacles in a more professional manner. This presents many opportunities to impact this vulnerable population with much more extensive results, and surely all the expertise necessary to expand the range of action thought in this project. Reaching to other remote, inequitable and poor regions of Colombia.

As of today this 4 areas are the most challenging for our project. Being able to work in our business model and public relations will make possible to ensure the funding and relations need it to develop this project. Monitoring and evaluation will allow us to measure the impact in a systematized approach. And given the fact this project relies in a virtual learning methodology, is important to analyze deeply the limitations in working in remote areas.   

We are looking for partners that believe in the power of education breaking the cicles of poverty and inequity. That are willing to extend their knowledge to social problematics, in order to impact those in need and that are not given the right opportunities to thrive in a vulnerable context. 

We seek the mitigation of risk factors such as child labor, inequality and school dropouts of 40 girls and adolescents located in one of the poorest and most unequal departments of the country, Choco, in order to guide them in their formative and vocational process towards the STEAM areas so that they can develop a meaningful life project, be leaders and agents of change in their community. 

Child labor, is a problem common to developing countries such as Colombia and that is why we intend to ensure that this project, is replicated in areas afflicted by violence and that quality education wont be a privilege for few, but all girls and adolescents in the world, for them to enjoy what rightfully corresponds to them.