Rionegro 2016

Rionegro (rural) | Santander | Colombia |

This is a continuation of Rionegro 2015 social project where our goal was to raise enough funds to acquire school supplies for 90 elementary school children in the Rionegro municipality of Santander, Colombia. Specifically, we will be targeting 5 more schools of the 15 total schools in the municipality. The project will continue to encourage participation in the arts with instrument donation and music education, as it we did for Rionegro 2015. The project will look to provide a paid music educator for a period of one year. In addition to last year’s project, we are looking to provide the set of schools with a sports program (to be implemented by it’s current staff) that will encourage after school activities in sports and team building exercises. Finally, we’ll joint forces with a local optometrist who will administer eye exams and donate prescription glasses to those children who need them.

Community Overview

The children who will benefit from this social project live in very low-income families of the Rionegro community; many of which live in small farms in the surrounding hills of the town of Portachuelo. The rural education centers (15 total) serve the Rionegro municipality. The biggest town in the municipality is called Portachuelo and it will be the host town for this project. The schools at this post hosts about 45 children. The outlying education centers serve remote areas of the municipality and the children living nearby (40 children). All education centers are comprised of 1-3 classrooms and 1-2 teachers. The children and their families lack the sufficient means to fund all that it is required for their educational development. Communities like this one, are often left to fend for themselves.