A new mentality for young lawbreakers, that's what the project is looking for "Socio-educational Support Newly. Challenges of education for social reintegration " of the Tierra Esperanza Foundation, which will be supported for three years by the Colunga 2018 Strengthening Fund.

It is an educational reintegration program for young people from the provinces of Concepción and Arauco that they have penalties for the Law of Criminal Responsibility and that they are outside the school system or are likely to defect. "There are two major objectives of the project: to develop pedagogical and psychopedagogical processes that allow the cognitive and instrumental leveling of boys and girls, which facilitate their insertion into the school system; and also to ensure processes of accompaniment and permanent monitoring with young people ", highlights José Rebolledo, National Technical Education Coordinator of Fundación Tierra de Esperanza.

Photo: Tierra de Esperanza Foundation.

The foundation has 22 years of experience and has developed 90 programs on themes of rights protection, juvenile justice, education, treatment in drug consumption, research and disaster risk management, but they have been working for two and a half years with the "New- mind". There were many problems identified that led the foundation to create this program: the lack of relevant educational instances for adolescents in conflict with the law; school desertion, deschooling, school delay, pedagogical backwardness and difficulties of insertion in schools and lyceums in the Biobío Region, among others.

"It is somewhat paradoxical because they are serving a sentence, but on the other hand we appear offering them this alternative so they can join the school system or they can finish their studies with some modality", comments José, and highlights his methodology: "We work from the voluntary, from the accompaniment, from convincing them and motivating them. We understand that the educational process is useless if you are not committed. From this point of view, we are permanently working with them in the co-construction of the work plans ".

Photo: Part of the Fundación Tierra de Esperanza team.

The Colunga Strengthening Fund

When Fundación Colunga opened a special call for its Strengthening Fund for Biobío, in 2018, Tierra de Esperanza Foundation was one of the two winning organizations. Before, they lived a refinement process in the design and management of their programs.

"It was like going back to college. I think it allowed us to incorporate tools that improved the proposal. The process was lived together with other organizations so it allowed us to reactivate contacts. There was an important group that worked in education and that encouraged us to share experiences, "recalls José Rebolledo.

In terms of advocacy, Tierra de Esperanza Foundation sees in the work with Colunga as an opportunity to validate the program and present it as Public politics. "We have been talking to Sename for a long time about what happens with the children when they are released, when the sanctions programs have no alternatives to be able to reintegrate the young people in educational and labor terms. This may be the great product that we can show impact on public policy, show it as a good alternative, "concludes the project coordinator.