FAMILY AND COMMUNITY

As a grass roots organisation Goals for Peace is keenly aware of the importance of engaging and working with the families and the community where we are based. Goals for Peace could not operate and run our projects without their support and guidance and we depend fully on their input and acceptance of our work.   

Our primary focus is working with youth and children although we recognise the importance of engaging with parents and community leaders. The development our children and young people as individuals also enables them to play a part in the emergence of a culture of peace in their communities.

To this end our Family and Community Development Project is designed to develop strong and sustainable links with the young people their parents and the wider community, in an inclusive participatory process. Our full time staff are local Colombians and our Director is from Olas 2, the main area we work in.

We follow the principle of local ownership as much as possible and employ social workers and psychologists who come from the community and work closely with the parents and children.

Our model of community development has been successful to the extent where it has been recognised and supported by El Alcaldia (City Council) of Bucaramanga. This has enabled us to roll out the project in other parts of the city. Although we are a small project we feel privileged to be part of Colombia’s transition to peace.