Read stories from our partners in the Americas
Associação de Assessoria aos Povos da Floresta (AFLORA)/ SECOYA works with the Yanomami Indigenous people to promote differentiated education for Indigenous children and adolescents through the training of Indigenous teachers and educators, as well as health education.
Associação Núcleo de Educação Comunitária do Coroadinho Creche e Escola Porta de Papel provides tutoring after-school programs focused on games and arts.
Associação Pazear provides daily soccer lessons for children and adolescents while helping them to strengthen their critical thinking skills and fostering girl’s empowerment.
Biblioteca Comunitaria Moara is a community library focused on children’s education that aims to encourage reading while celebrating popular culture and Amazonian culture.
Cores do Amanhã provides after-school and weekend activities for children focused on sports, arts, dance, crafts, and other topics.
Instituto Mãe Lalu offers weekend activities for children that incorporate a learning methodology based on “cirandas,” a dance performed in groups and in a circle that is part of Brazilian popular culture, and “cantigas de roda,” popular folkloric tunes that are usually for children.
Instituto Social D’Joana provides after-school and weekend activities for children focused on sports, arts, dance, story reading, and other topics.
Caravana Cine is a group of young artivists who offer audiovisual and cinematographic education to promote innovative and captivating social critique. The organization helps youth from the city of Medellín and the department of Antioquia, especially from peripheral and rural areas, to overcome contexts of violence and inequalities while also fostering a sense of community ownership and pride.
The Centro Cultural Popular Victor Jara is an organizational space that is committed to fostering dignified lives through popular education. The organization works in Bogotá’s Usme neighborhood to cultivate a sense of community identity and promote leadership, citizen participation, and the expression of different artistic languages.
The Colectivo de Mujeres Afrodescendientes Wiwas is a network of Afro-descendant women focused on promoting the history of Afro-descendant people and the social and political empowerment of Afro-Colombian women through political education.
Culturas Campesinas is a group of youth and children from the town of Herveo in Colombia’s Tolima department that works to strengthen the rural population through awareness-raising activities and the production of audiovisual content. The organization promotes local culture and identity, transforming narratives and stigmas related to the rural population.
Fundación Dar Amor provides preschool and after-school programs for supplemental learning, violence prevention, and self-care, focusing on supporting children living with HIV and on diverse prevention programs for adolescents.
Fundación Enséñanos a Creer provides after-school and weekend programs for children focused on stories, games, music, dance, arts and crafts, and other topics.
Fundación Espíritu Indomable defends the rights of and empowers Black, Afro-Colombian, Raizal, and Palenquero communities in Colombia, strengthening their ethnic identity through a methodology that combines combat sports with life skills, education, health, food security, and entrepreneurship for development and peace building.
Fundación Haga Que Pase provides complementary educational activities focused on music, the arts, ecology, and nutrition to public school students in disadvantaged neighborhoods in Cali, particularly those with large Afro-Colombian and migrant populations.
Fundación Niñas de Luz creates opportunities for girls in Bogotá’s Ciudad Bolívar neighborhood and empowers them through mentorship to become leaders in their own lives by helping them develop their talents, critical thinking skills, and personal social projects.
La Red Popular Trans (RPT) is a transfeminist collective of trans people and dissidents of the sex/gender system that uses cultural and political actions to make visible, recognize, demand, guarantee, and realize the rights of the trans population at the local, national, and international levels.
MARE provides science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) education experiences to children in public spaces, schools, and local “labs”.
Músicas de la Tierra offers itinerant music school that teaches traditional instruments and styles in rural and Indigenous communities. The organization inspires young people through playful music education that broadens their horizons and empowers them to face life’s challenges with creativity and strong cultural roots.
Ruleli Corporación Social y Cultural offers theater, dance, and creative arts programs as well as homework help and skills-building to children of all abilities.
Asociación AMA is dedicated to promoting leadership, democratic participation, sustainable economic development, and access to comprehensive education on sexuality and sexual and reproductive rights for women and youth in Peten.
Asociación de Estudios y Proyectos de Esfuerzo Popular (EPRODEP) provides formal education with personal accompaniment and opportunities for artistic expression to children and adolescents who have been rejected from public schools, including children with disabilities and youth with behavioral challenges.
Asociación Dejando Una Sonrisa is a youth-led nonprofit that provides educational, psychosocial, and nutritional services to children and youth living in impoverished sectors to improve their quality of life, as well as that of their families and communities.
Asociación Futuro Vivo is an educational program that supports community development and rehabilitation, offering academic education, nutrition, adult literacy, comprehensive family support, and medical attention to socially, economically, ethnically, and culturally vulnerable populations.
Asociación Puerta de Esperanza provides alternative education and literacy programs to children and youth who live in and around Guatemala City’s largest public market.
Asociación SERniña is a youth-led organization that fosters gender equality and empowers children and youth to reach their full potential. In partnership with local schools and community groups in Chimaltenango and Sacatepéquez, SERniña facilitates workshops on gender equality, leadership skills, and healthy masculinities, including a comprehensive program for boys and young men known as SerNiño.
Coincidir defends the rights of children and youth in Guatemala through a grassroots movement that connects girls in rural communities and small urban centers affected by social violence with youth-led advocacy for policy and social change.
Vida Digna is a Mayan organization in the western highlands of Guatemala dedicated to affirming indigenous migrant identities. Vida Digna supports young people, women, and families from the countryside to fulfill their potential and to support the growth of their communities.
ConnectED provides local leaders in education with the skills, training, and resources they need to improve educational outcomes in their communities.
Escuela Bilingüe Intercultural Comunitaria, run by Fundación Nueva Esperanza Río Negro, serves Achí and Q’eqchi’ Indigenous adolescents from rural areas through its secondary school, which specializes in sustainable ecology and agriculture and preserving historical memory.
Instituto Comunitario La Esperanza provides accelerated primary and middle school education focused on violence prevention, primarily to adolescents who have migrated from the Guatemalan Highlands to one of Guatemala’s fastest growing urban centers.
Formed by young people from the department of San Marcos, Jóvenes por el Cambio develops the social and educational capacity of children and young migrants from the region. In addition to providing direct assistance and facilitating workshops and trainings aimed at migrant children and youth, the organization is part of numerous advocacy networks at the transnational and local levels.
Organización Sololateca por los Derechos de las Mujeres Jóvenes Indígenas (SPDMJI) designs and facilitates workshops with girls, adolescents, and women on issues of self-esteem, gender-equity, indigenous women’s rights, and preventing early and forced marriage and violence against women.
Visit: facebook.com/orgsololateca.nahuala
Peronia Adolescente works with children and adolescents in peri-urban areas struggling with violence by providing tutoring and psychosocial support alongside and integrated with the arts.
Red de Jóvenes Artistas por la Justicia Social is a network of young people from different departments in Guatemala who use art as a tool for advocacy and empowerment. Its members have organized workshops, festivals, murals, trainings, debates, and exhibitions to raise awareness about issues that impact youth, to influence public policy, and to spark dialogue.
Tierra Nueva promotes the expansion of alternative education opportunities for children and adolescents in rural areas in western Guatemala through a pilot program and training for public primary and secondary school teachers.
Yo’o offers literacy programs for Poqomchi’ and Q’eqchi’ Indigenous children in rural areas and encourages them to enjoy reading by providing them with access to a dynamic community library.
Academia de Liderazgo Social is a youth-led organization that empowers children and young people to take on leadership roles and get involved in political and social issues. It was founded by university students and provides youth with leadership development programs and training in community organizing.
Acción Honduras focuses on generating positive and lasting changes in rural Honduras by inspiring and empowering communities to take action to improve the conditions of people living in vulnerable circumstances through sustainable development and systemic change. The organization has a special focus on children, adolescents, and youth.
Casa ASTI builds relationships with children and families who live and work on the streets of Tegucigalpa’s urban market district, providing them with the support they need to return to and stay in school; keep their youngest children safe; and break the cycle of extreme poverty.
Centro de Niños con Necesidades Educativas Especiales (CNNEE) is a solidarity initiative that promotes inclusive education with and for all by supporting families with preschool education and developmental therapy for young children, children with disabilities, and children with learning disorders.
Centro Indigenista de Capacitación Artesanal Intibucano (CICAI) provides middle school and technical education in a variety of traditional handicrafts to young people from Lenca Indigenous communities, offering academic opportunities while advancing cultural knowledge.
Chispa Project brings books directly to schools, seeding and invigorating libraries inside established local educational institutions while training teachers and parents to jointly manage and creatively use the donated books in ways that enliven learning.
Educación Diaria provides quality, innovative, and creativity-based preschool education to children from low-income families on the outskirts of the town of Ojojona, Honduras.
Fundación Centro Cultural Infantil promotes an integral bilingual education with a focus on artistic expression for the development of children and youth in Honduras.
Programa Socioeducativo Paso a Paso is an education and community development center that offers both academic and holistic support to children, youth, and families in San Pedro Sula’s Rivera Hernández neighborhood through playful learning, nutrition, livelihoods, environmental care, and wellbeing.
Proyecto Uremu provides free music education in marginalized communities in the city of San Pedro Sula to encourage children to practice the arts and offer them alternatives to environments that put them at social risk.
United Way Honduras collaborates with other Honduran nonprofits and local government agencies to advance quality early childhood learning and youth development programming through social responsibility commitments from the Honduran private sector.
Un Mundo is a community development organization that promotes dignity, community, and self-sufficiency of people living in the protected watershed of the Cangrejal river through access to sustainable education, health, and livelihoods services.
Founded by two brothers who discovered breakdancing as an alternative to gangs when they were teenagers, Warriors Zulu Nation Honduras is a youth-led organization that uses urban arts to engage young people. It empowers youth in neighborhoods with a significant gang presence to practice different art forms while exploring social issues that impact their communities.
The Human Rights Center Fray Matías de Córdova specializes in the defense and promotion of the human rights of refugees, asylum seekers, international migrant population and their families.
Colectivo Kokopelli Tlalli is a group of young environmental activists who combat food insecurity and strengthen sustainable agricultural practices within urban communities. Kokopelli Tlalli provides technical education and hands-on support to families to help them grow their own vegetable gardens as a way to generate an alternative source of food and income.
Colectiva MAPAS, a feminist community-based organization serving Indigenous adolescent migrant girls and their families, organizes film debates, training workshops, and other community activities in various municipalities in Michoacán. Among other projects, MAPAS has created the Feminist School, which offers workshops and discussions on feminist self-defense, the human body (including how to use the menstrual cup), boundaries, and sexual and reproductive rights.
From the Nahuatl word meaning caretakers, Colectivo Tajpianij is a youth-led organization that seeks to be the caretaker of the forest. The organization fosters awareness of and strengthens environmental conservation practices while also piloting new strategies to preserve green spaces in its community.
A bi-national organization that works in San Diego and Tijuana, Espacio Migrante works to protect the human rights of migrants and refugees, empower migrant communities, improve their quality of life, research the phenomenon of migration, and raise awareness of the issue.
Iniciativas para el Desarrollo Humano (IDEHU) offers comprehensive support to migrant children and youth on the southern border of Mexico, providing school and humanitarian assistance; recreational and sports workshops; emotional counseling; and leadership training. IDEHU is also part of local and regional advocacy networks for the protection of the human rights of migrant children and youth.
Founded in 2016, Las Vanders is a multicultural feminist organization that works to advance social justice, sustainable feminism, and economic justice, with a focus on providing integral support to migrant and asylum-seeking women in Mexico City.
ODA works to build a transnational community for reintegration support and advocacy for the rights of returned and deported migrants in Mexico. ODA and its bicultural community space Poch@ House empower young migrants with direct services, educational activities, and cultural advocacy to help them achieve their dreams.
Red de Intérpretes y Promotores Interculturales (RIPI) is a collective of more than 80 young human rights defenders who seek to guarantee justice for Indigenous communities throughout Mexico. Speaking more than 64 Indigenous languages and dialects, RIPI members provide legal translation, accompaniment, and representation to Indigenous Mexicans.
Voces promotes the organization and voices of indigenous migrants (especially children, women, and youth) for the defense and exercise of their rights and to help them build “Lekil Kuxlejal” (good living) in the migrant and transnational communities of Mesoamerica and North America.
Yo’on Ixim (“heart of corn” in the Mayan language Tsotsil) is a nonprofit school, cooperative, and community center that offers educational and economic opportunities to migrant communities in La Loma, a neighborhood in Puebla. Yo’on Ixim provides culturally sensitive support, developing educational programs and materials to strengthen the memory, agency, and identity of migrant Indigenous communities.
For security reasons, GFC is naming its partner organizations in Nicaragua only when they have asked to be publicly identified.
AmpliaMente is a youth-led organization that coordinates community projects with the goal of providing mental health services and resources for children, adolescents, and young people in Peru. The organization works to promote psychological wellbeing as an intrinsic part of the holistic development of children and youth to unlock their potential and help them tap into their own strengths.
Escuela Resiliente empowers young social change agents interested in combining art and cutting-edge environmental practices to drive positive environmental conservation impacts.
Ollas Sostenibles seeks to guarantee food security for low-income social sectors of Lima through sustainable solutions and a holistic approach. The organization’s vision is to create self-sufficient and resilient communities even in the face of climate emergencies and supply chain disruptions that impact food, water, and energy security.
Voces Violeta is a feminist and interdisciplinary youth organization founded by a group of psychology students. Voces Violeta promotes the mental health of children and youth through community actions, advocacy campaigns, and projects based on a gender-inclusive, intersectional, and anti-racist approach with a deep respect for diversity.
Homies Unidos works to end violence and promote peace through gang prevention, promotion of human rights in immigrant communities, and youth empowerment.
Global Fund for Children (GFC) UK Trust, created in 2006, is a UK registered charity (UK charity number 1119544). We work to generate vital income, create new fundraising opportunities, and raise awareness of the invaluable work of GFC’s grassroots grantees. Our aim is to extend the reach of GFC in the United Kingdom, Europe, and beyond.
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