Quality Education for Migrant Children of Colombia Photo Gallery

Panoramic of Altos de Cazucá

Altos de Cazucá is an extremely poor commune of 14 neighborhoods in the municipality of Soacha, with the highest concetration of migrant and refugee population, displaced by Colombia’s armed conflict. It is characterized for its high levels of over crowdedness, the absence or precarious delivery of public services and persistent violence, due to unending seige between the guerrilla and paramilitary forces that live in and control the neighborhoods and jeopardize the security of its inhabitants.

Children and youth of Altos de Cazucá

Altos de Cazucá reports high levels of mobility, extreme poverty and great vulnerability among its inhabitants; coverage and quality of education is precarious and does not attend the real needs of migrant, excluded children and youth.

Collaborative, group work

Through the promotion of active, participatory and cooperative learning, in our Escuela Nueva Learnign Circles we generate social and human capital.

Engaged, solidary students

In our project we enable students, teachers and the community to build its own social capital and reinforce the habits of cooperative and democratic behaviors—the foundations of a sustainable civil society.

Active, curious students

Observations by assessors corroborate that children feel more secure, confident and better able to learn within the effective environment of the learning circles; “they learn to dialogue, solve conflicts peacefully, cooperate and respect one another, become responsible and develop a feeling of belonging.”

Confident, resposnible student

The Catholic University of Chile found an 18.5% improvement in self-esteem for children in learning circles. (May 2004: 76% normal, 24% low; Nov 2004: 94.5% normal, 5.5% low)