Las Colonias

Our NGOs CriSol and Ecolonias were born due to the need for social mediation, sanitary solutions, and environmental sustainability in Las Colonias, a suburb of Pereira. All of our projects aim to improve the quality of life of the community members by making them self-sufficient. Las Colonias consists of displaced people from all parts of Colombia, representing the 3 most traditional ethnic groups of Colombian people. Most of them live here because of the armed conflict, the lack of opportunities, and social inequality in Colombia. The CriSol Foundation, through different processes, provides comprehensive support to the community. The central axis of the CriSol Foundation is the Early Childhood Centre "RE+CREO", for fifty children from two to five years of age, where Project Pedagogy is used as a tool for profound change, where the voices of the children are heard, making them valid interlocutors, and which also allows the formation of critical, argumentative, sensitive, creative, spiritual human beings, as well as having training in English, arts and bird watching.

This is a very enriching experience that you should not miss. The people in Las Colonias are very friendly and really value international volunteers, even if you are not perfect in Spanish. You will have the opportunity to live with a local family and eat traditional Colombian meals with them. Your host family will welcome you with open arms and it will be an amazing way to learn/improve your Spanish. Las Colonias has a good atmosphere and is not too far from the main city of Pereira if you want some things to do during your free time or on weekends. You will feel at home from the first moment, not only in your new family but in the whole community. The tasks of volunteers are different, such as teaching English and French, supporting teachers in kindergarten, managing social networks, developing NGO websites and helping with recycling.