We very well know how much the children we serve enjoy field trips so in the month of June we took them to enjoy a wonderful sunny day in a beautiful place located on the outskirts of the city. The very start of the iconic Medellín river. There kids had fun playing and running outdoors. We also took advantage of the space to promote awareness about the need to preserve our environment. In this trip children learned about the importance of caring for water sources and avoiding their pollution. We also reflected on various ways to contribute to the conservation of the fauna and flora of these natural sites.
We enjoy in pampering our children in many ways, one of which is food made with lots of love. Friends and volunteers from the foundation join to prepare delicious food for the kids on a regular basis. In the month of July, we prepared some delicious Belgian waffles with the support of one of the volunteers, who is a professional chef. These interactions with different professionals are useful also to motivate the kids to learn from the good example of people who have achieved their goals in life. In this way, we inspire the children with real examples to achieve the dreams that they harbor in their hearts.
Recognizing that the teenagers in the neighborhood feel the need to work at an early age to help cover family expenses, we offer basic vocational courses in barbering, beauty, and hand crafts. The teenagers are very receptive and take advantage of the opportunities to have a reliable source of income on a flexible work schedule. We however always encourage them to make school their priority, and through the alliances we have with other institutions, they can access technical or professional training after finishing high school.
Life presents the children we serve with great challenges, but we are here to help them face and overcome them!
During the month of May we held a workshop for teenagers called “Visualizing our future.” The objective of this activity was to help the children understand the importance of setting relevant goals in life, and then create a plan of specific actions/decisions they must carry out daily towards that goal. Furthermore, we invited the kids to become aware of unhelpful habits that could divert them from their plans.
In our efforts to offer meaningful activities to the children, we created an alliance with one of the main public libraries in the city of Medellín. Through it, children learn science in many fun ways. Children get access to computers, watch documentaries, play games that stimulate their creativity and intelligence. Through activities like this, we make sure that Poder Joven is more attractive to the children than the “the street activities” which they are exposed to such as begging, crime, sexual exploitation, and drug consumption.