Project Mission

Hands Up is a foundation focused on combating poverty through education and the arts. Ararca is a small, marginalized community of about 1,300 people on the northern coast of Colombia. Up until 2010 they didn’t have running water in the homes, all the streets were unpaved and the only public space was the state school.

It all started when two sisters decided to organize weekly workshops for the primary students, including games, stories, songs and character building.

Read more on their website and Facebook.

The Library

In 2013, they opened a library and funroom within the school, creating a safe, welcoming, and inspiring space for children and teenagers to learn and grow.

The library offers access to books, educational toys, and creative materials, and is supervised by a caring librarian who supports both group activities and individual learning. Through reading, play, and guided exploration, children develop cognitive, social, and creative skills in an environment many would not otherwise have access to.

Beyond learning, the library helps children build positive habits such as patience, respect, focus, and responsibility. It has become a place they are eager to spend time in, often reluctant to leave when the school day ends.

Workshops

Over the years, they have run practical workshops for both children and parents, supporting everyday learning and wellbeing through hands-on activities.

In partnership with the FEM Foundation in 2016 and 2017, they delivered weekly workshops that helped children explore and appreciate their cultural identity through field trips, community interviews, and creative projects. These experiences resulted in illustrated books created by the children, documenting their lives, families, and traditions.

Since 2019, they have continued this work by collaborating closely with school teachers to reinforce and support classroom learning.