The “Cultivating smiles” foundation is a Christian non-governmental organization that offers girls from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds a favorable environment for their psychomotor development, their physical and mental health, and helps with their education.

The objective is to reduce the conditions of vulnerability of children, contribute to their comprehensive well-being and offer them opportunities for personal development.

In practice, it is a reception structure with several bedrooms, a kitchen and a bathroom, as well as a playground and a work room where the girls live, eat and receive food, help with homework, as well as psychological support. and physical care, if necessary. The reception is held on weekdays and the girls return to their respective families on weekends.

It is the parents in difficulty themselves who come to ask this foundation for help.

The organization has an alliance with the school Nueva Lengua. Under these conditions it is possible to take Spanish classes in the morning and carry out a volunteer project with this structure in the afternoon.

The foundation is looking for long-term volunteers (6 months, 1 year) to be in contact with the children and help with play activities and help with homework, and short-term volunteers for logistical activities such as cleaning or cooking.

In fact, for children who have experienced situations of abandonment in particular, it is preferable not to reproduce this scheme with volunteers who would only be there for a few weeks, but to build a solid project, also preparing the moment of leaving.

We had the opportunity to go to this foundation with the school Nueva Lengua to share a moment with the girls around a meal that we prepare.

Personally, I appreciated the fact of carrying out a specific action such as cooking something that would make them happy (full arepas), and simply talking to them. I think it is an enrichment for both parties. Also, unlike other volunteer situations that I have had the opportunity to encounter, the volunteer is in a “horizontal” relationship with the child, which allows for a real encounter.

Do not hesitate to contact the foundation directly for more information: cultivandosonrisas@gmail.com

This article was originally written in French