Who: 
Colegio Paulino Salgado Batata

Where:
Barranquilla, Colombia

What: 
Paulino Salgado is an elementary, middle, and high school located in the slums of Barranquilla, Colombia. Sixty percent of the children who attend this school come from Afro-Colombian families displaced by the Colombia civil war, a violent conflict between Colombian paramilitary and local guerrilla groups.Afro-descendants are the most hard-hit by internal displacement in Colombia, a country that has the second-highest internal displacement rate in the world after Sudan, with estimates ranging from 1.9 million to almost 4 million, or about 6 percent of the population. In the cities Afro-Colombians are commonly subjected to discrimination and ethnic stereotyping leading to a denial of their cultural values. This school seeks to give some of the most underprivileged youth in Latin America a future through education. 
  Hands For Latin America is a dedicated partner of Paulino Salgado and is determined to lend support to fulfill this school's mission of giving Colombia's underprivileged youth a future through education. Hands For Latin America's partnership with this institution came as a result of a eye-opening trip taken by CEO and founder Sofía Ruiz when she traveled to Paulino Salgado to volunteer as an English teacher for three weeks. Ruiz was immediately struck by the vibrant and warm Colombian culture but more importantly by the joy, strength, and perseverance shown by these children. These children are victims of displacement, incredible suffering, and live in absolute deprivation yet continue to smile, laugh, sing, and dance. Ruiz's life was touched by these beautiful children and she hopes to help them through Hands For Latin America. Currently, the most important need for Paulino Salgado is building a cafeteria. Most of the children attending the school go days without eating and as of now Paulino Salgado can't provide these children with more than one meal every other day. It is the goal of this institution and Hands For Latin America to attain the necessary funds to build a cafeteria in order to provide these children with proper nourishment.