When Design Saves A School, It Can Save A Community

This holiday season, far from the sparkling lights many of us see in store fronts on bustling city streets, there are many parts of the world where turning on lights would be considered a luxury. In some parts of the world, access to three meals a day is also considered a luxury. In these communities, children are often too weak to attend school. La Guajira is one such place.

La Guajira is the driest region in Colombia, profoundly affected by lack of drinking water and extreme poverty.

The MAS Foundation is working in this remote community, to renovate a small school, Ethni Educative Center #17 Kousacho, located in Riohacha, La Guajira Colombia, to benefit around 300 children between the ages of 2 and 14.

The project will create a facility which will include:

• 5 classrooms
• 1 music and art room
• 1 library with computer room
• Recreational park
• 8 bathrooms
• 1 teacher’s room
• 1 administrative office
• School furniture

In addition to providing the physical space to make learning possible, these children will be given breakfast, lunch and snacks throughout the day. The school will provide a place where these children can experience a safe, secure, environment — where their physical and emotional needs can be nurtured, where a future for them can be supported, and where, hopefully, a community can be sustained.  MMD’s Dina Cuadrado is part of the MAS team that has visited the area and is working to make a difference for these children and this community.

Learn more and donate to this project here.