Hello Friends,
I’m currently working with a group of 20 Colombian friends to support a Medellín-based charity foundation that supports children in the famed neighborhood of Comuna 13 in Medellín. I’m writing this to ask for your support in this mission.
About Comuna 13
Once the most dangerous area of the formerly “most dangerous city in the world”, Comuna 13 is nestled in the steep western hills of the city, and has brick houses upon brick houses. The area is now a tourist attraction featuring beautiful street art/graffiti, outdoor escalators, street food, bars, rides and bungee jumping, tourist shops, loads of gringo and Colombian tourists and amazing views of the city. Unfortunately remnants of the past are still prevalent and many residents don’t experience the benefits of tourism, leaving them still struggling.
About the Foundation and Why We Chose Them
My group and I decided to support La Fundación Sembradores de Amor (The Sowers of Love Foundation) which is responsible for 66 children, 16 of which have physical or cognitive/mental disabilities. Their mission is to create dreams through love, art and culture while taking into account their emotional, effective and experiential situation outside the foundation. They provide a space where the children are offered food, educational opportunities in the arts and are given the skills to define and succeed in their goals. We decided to work with this foundation because we really connected with the fact that the children are from this area of the city with a storied past, but don’t necessarily benefit from the touch of tourism.
This past weekend, I had a chance to go on an outing to the movies with them recently. It was beautiful to share time with the kids and give them the opportunity to visit the cinema and see Paw Patrol (in Spanish of course), play Simon Dice (Simon Says), eat popcorn and enjoy their positivity.
Our Goals:
The foundation is new and needs all the support it can get. Below are the details of our list. My personal goal is to collect donations/resources valuing $1000 USD. Our team goal is to reach a value of $73,500,000 Colombian Pesos, or roughly $18,520 US total (depending on the exchange rate of the day). Our goal is to do this within the next 2 weeks (by Nov 25.).
Looking for support in:
- Financial donations
Items:
- Groceries
- 4 Tents – 3m x 3m
- Kitchen Utensils – cups, plats, spoons, etc.
- Dining Area – 2 Tables, 30 Chairs
- 2 Fans
- Video Projector
- Shelving Unit – 1.92m x 50cm
- Speaker
- Television
- Computers – 1 laptop, 2 desktops
- Clothes/shoes – 66 sets
- Toys
- Musical Instruments
- Paint for the walls (3 cans)
- Banner
- Cleaning supplies
- 4 inflatable mattresses
- School Supplies and Books
- Christmas – gifts, tree, decoration, dinner, etc.
Additional Support Categories:
- Human Resources (psychologist, recreation specialist, etc)
- Health checkups
- Field Trip to Santa Fé (Antioquia)
- Music Teacher
- Infrastructure – window and electrical maintenance
Take Action and Support Me/Us/The Children of Comuna 13:
If you’d like to support me by donating items, please contact me directly to figure out the logistics. If you would like to support me with a financial contribution, you can send it to me directly via Paypal, Venmo or Google Pay, then I will manage conversion to Pesos and my team will make purchases according to the needs of the charity.