Photo Courtesy of Corporacion Turismo Cartagena Plaza de la Aduana

Historical and magical is how many people describe Cartagena de Indias. Every year, the city hosts important international cultural events, such as the Hay Festival, and attracts artists, politicians and sportsmen who come to celebrate weddings in colonial bastions and churches.

However, behind its colonial charm of secluded squares and narrow streets, lies another Cartagena, one of poverty for 74 percent of its population. In fact, nearly 55 percent of the city’s homes lack basic facilities, according to a recent study
of Colombia’s National Statistics Department, DANE.

This social reality has spurred a number of responses from private companies, government agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and three great non-profit organizations. One of these, Fundación Mamonal, groups 34 companies and invests around 1.6 million US dollars a year in education, community management and income generation programs aimed at reducing poverty, improving social stability and improving employment, according to the foundation’s executive director, Napoleon De la Rosa.

One of Mamonal’s main projects, Educational Management Improvement, during a two-year period expects to improve educational standards and promote greater cooperation and responsibility among students, teachers, families and community organizations. “What we basically want is a cultural transformation of education. Today, thanks to the project, 47 percent or some 85,000 students of Cartagena’s educational institutions are involved in the program,” says Ileana Mejía, the organization’s educational coordinator.

A second great organization is sponsored by the biggest cement company in Colombia, Fundación Argos. Elena Castellón, social management coordinator, says the company has invested more than 950 million pesos, (US $475,000) in Cartagena during 2007 for programs in education, housing and income generation. Forty-one percent of this budget is targeted for education, 26 percent to infrastructure and 15 percent to quality improvement.

The social and charitable organizations are doing a remarkable job in Cartagena, a city of 895,000 people. Yet, unfortunately, 18 percent of its citizens do not have the financial resources to have three meals a day, according to government statistics. Señor De la Rosa reaffirms: “We are affecting every suburb in Cartagena to assure that kids, who are our most important target, get a better future.”