Cartagena

Cartagena | Bolivar | Colombia |

SEF worked with local constituencies to build a neighborhood park in Cartagena, Colombia, offering the community a healthy and safe outdoor recreational area in the slums of El Pozon.Developing an empty plot of land designated by the local government, SEF worked with local foundations, corporations, the University of Cartagena’s medical school, the Cartagena Institute of Recreation, and local community members to ensure the success of the park.

Unity Park serves as a recreational center for games of soccer and softball, but is also a place where the community can partake in other activities, such as music. The medical school at the University of Cartagena provided a bus of doctors, dentists and social workers to give checkups and educational workshops. Inspired by the construction of the park, the community came together to organize a “Peace Walk”. More than 200 children and family members marched to celebrate the event. The park includes two soccer fields and one playground, and 500 trees were donated. Sports equipment was allocated, and 235 children received school supplies.

Community Overview

Cartagena de Indias is a charming city located on the northern Caribbean coast of Colombia.  Utilized as an important port since the early 1500’s, Cartagena’s rich history and colonial architecture attracts thousands of visitors a year, making it the number one tourist destination in the country. However, outside the 400-year-old walls of the old enchanted city and far from the eyes of tourists, lies the real Cartagena. Poverty and drug trafficking plague the majority of cities’ neighborhoods, and according to the United Nations, Cartagena is among the most disparate societies in the world. Of Cartagena’s one million inhabitants, it is estimated that 600,000 thousand live in poverty.

The neighborhood El Pozon, a community consisting of 80,000 people, is considered one of the most impoverished neighborhoods in the city. Plagued by gang violence, El Pozon lacks sufficient police vigilance and health centers, and is home to many at-risk children. Until Unity Park, the neighborhood did not have an area where people could gather as a community.