In order to improve school coverage rates, the quality of public education and contribute to the development and strengthening of the region, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation and the Pies Descalzos Foundation are beginning the construction of a school in the Catatumbo region, in the department of Norte de Santander, for more than 1,000 students.

The school will have 22 equipped classrooms, 2 laboratories, 1 multipurpose room, 2 technology classrooms, a library and recreational areas, in a constructed area of 6,200 m2 on a 30,000 m2 lot, ceded by Ecopetrol to the municipality. By 2025 the school will serve 960 students in a single day and 120 students in a Child Development Center.

"We are inspired to reach Catatumbo and from the school to contribute to the construction of a lasting peace in Colombia," says Patricia Sierra, executive director of the Pies Descalzos Foundation.

The project seeks to reduce the deficit in educational infrastructure in the country, since, according to the Ministry of Education, there are still around 1,700 schools in the country where all children and young people can attend school in a single day. The construction, then, contributes by providing adequate spaces for the teaching-learning processes of the student population.

Construction seeks to generate social change

The project also seeks to support the civilian population and generate social change. "In a region like Catatumbo, which has been historically affected by violence and armed conflict, it is necessary to create spaces that improve communities. This is how the school will also be a center for community development," explains the director of Pies Descalzos.

For the Foundation, the construction of school infrastructure implies providing learning and protection spaces for children and youth, as well as spaces that energize social and community relations where projects and initiatives of social groups coincide for their participation in the local and municipal dynamics. Likewise, it is expected that such construction will also support employability and talent generation in the region.  

Barefoot Foundation bets on rurality and dispersed rurality

Five years ago, the Pies Descalzos Foundation decided to support rural and dispersed rural areas to help close the educational gap with urban areas, reaching challenging territories such as Catatumbo, La Guajira and Caquetá. " We work for the welfare of children and youth in the country, and Tibú is one of the municipalities where it is necessary to strengthen both pedagogical processes and educational infrastructure," explains Sierra.

The construction of the new school was made possible thanks to a partnership between the Howard G. Buffett Foundation and the Pies Descalzos Foundation, with the support of the government of Norte de Santander, the Mayor's Office of Tibú, and the architectural firm David Delgado. Learn more about the project here.