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Fundación Centro Social y Educativo Hormiguero (“El Homiguero”) is a non-profit organization that provides formal education to the Homiguero district of Southern Cali, a predominantly Afro-Colombian community. Established in 1974 to address educational inequalities within the city of Cali by offering affordable literacy classes to children and their parents, El Hormiguero has since grown into a fully operational educational institution. Called “Colegio la Asunción”, the school provides 360 students between the ages of 5 and 18 with primary and secondary education. In order to fulfill its mission to serve those children that would otherwise be unable to afford an education, El Hormiguero provides 40% of all students with full scholarships and an additional 10% with partial subsidy.

The Homiguero district of Cali consists of both urban and rural areas and faces significant socio-economic challenges that include limited employment opportunities, lack of potable water for residents’ homes, high levels of family violence and on-going influx of families displaced by the armed conflict. To handle the challenges faced by its student body, El Homiguero provides services beyond formal education, including free lunch, psychological services, literacy training for parents, and after school tutoring; all of these are only partially subsidized by the Colombian government. These extra services in combination with Colegio la Asunción’s small class size, have helped to limit the drop-out rate among students and have contributed to a better than 50% high school graduation rate, above average for poor communities in Colombia.

In addition to actively supporting its teachers in pursuing additional education training, El Homiguero also facilitates internal, affordable on-going professional development for its entire staff. Called “Teachers Teaching Teachers,” the initiative empowers teachers to train one another based on topics that the staff highlight as important to their effectiveness in the classroom.

The Genesis Foundation is providing support to Fundación Centro Social y Educativo Hormiguero so it can continue to pursue its mission of bringing quality education to the children of El Hormiguero.

For more information about this institution, or to make a direct contribution, please contact genesis@genesis-foundation.org.