Dear Friends of El Rio Foundation,
The start of this year has been extremely tough. Consistent heavy flooding caused devastating landslides that impacted many of our local communities. In Mendihuaca, homes were completely flattened and a bridge, along the main coastal artery (the Troncal del Caribe), collapsed, cutting us off from Santa Marta. If you would like to donate to Families from Mendihuaca, who lost close to everything, please click HERE and leave a note ‘Mendihuaca’.
As a result of the widespread flooding, schools in our area remained closed for the first two months of the year, and the local economy was severely affected. Political unrest also forced the closure of Tayrona park for several weeks; however we are delighted to report that this has now been peacefully resolved.
The events in Venezuela at the start of the year have also not impacted our operations as much as we had first anticipated, but they are a reminder that for some Venezuelan families, fleeing the crisis, the Foundation activities are the only educational and wellbeing support they receive.
In challenging times, the work of the Foundation takes on even greater significance. And with the support of our funding partners, hostel guests, crowd-funders, and the hostel itself, in Q1 we have been able to provide tailored educational and wellbeing support to over 600 children every week in our local area. We are delighted to share the highlights of each of our lead programmes below.
As traditional in our Spring newsletter, we are also very proud to share our ANNUAL REVIEW for 2025, a break-through year in several communities. If you feel inspired by our work and/or would like to find out more about any of our programmes for 2026, please don’t hesitate to get in touch – foundation@elriohostel.com.
Our Instagram, amazingly curated by our social media team, led by Catalina Hernandez-Torres remains the best introduction to our Foundation: www.instagram.com/elriofoundation.
ACADEMIC TUTORING AND COMMUNITY ENGLISH:
‘The main objective of the Tutoring sessions in Q1 was to engage as many students as possible while strengthening the bond with the children and their families to encourage their continued participation. Establishing a clear and consistent routine was key, allowing students to adapt to the environment and develop good learning habits. The Tutoring sessions included reading time, English lessons, homework support, and recreational activities at the end, such as cognitive games, promoting not only academic learning but also concentration, creativity, and teamwork skills.’
– Lina Morales, Academic Tutoring and Community English programme lead
This term’s highlights included the continuation of the Picnic de Palabras families reading project in Buritaca, and in our ongoing quest to find an activity that every child loves, we also organised ‘DJ workshops’ with the support of Miss Champus (Cali.Dá), Rio Hostels resident DJs and friends.
With schools closed due to the floods, our Tutoring sessions were for over six weeks, the only educational support children in our region received. Thank you to our founding Academic Tutoring partners La Vida (whose 20th birthday we are excited to celebrate in Q2) and to the FIFA Foundation for sponsoring our Guachaca sessions. We also look forward to re-connecting with the LATA Foundation through Journey Latin America’s fundraising campaign for Q2 onwards.
EL RIO GAMES:
Our newest addition to our co-ordinator team is Joel Avilez from our local town of P.Nuevo. From volunteer, to multi-sports and football coach to now El Rio Games lead. He is a recent graduate of the FIFA Beca scholarship programme and is now supporting 400+ children every week to play sports they love!
What has been particularly pleasing this quarter is how new children have been welcomed and supported by the existing groups at our 7 multi-sports clubs in 7 different communities and how they have thrived as a result.
For an individual case study, Pedro from Las Cabanas stands out. ‘He has become much more involved in activities since last year and gained a lot of confidence. I was very proud of and pleased with his attitude in the Ultimate tournament in Palomino which we won, where he was more than happy to be rotated out and support his team mates.’
To see a short video of the Las Cabanas team’s tournament win, please click HERE. To see a summary of our 2025 El Rio Games programme, click HERE.
ART:
As Ami, our Art lead shares, ‘this year has been all about motion pictures. The new art club ‘NarrArte’, at the Kogui School of Mulkwakungui has focused on introducing young people to the art of audiovisual production, encouraging Indigenous children to tell their own stories and share their unique perspectives.
Meanwhile, in Buritaca and Villacuisa where Art Club has been active for several years, we are exploring the magical world of scenery for animation. The children have created images of their own homes and surroundings, as well as imagined dream houses, all from scratch by assembling recycled cardboard. They are loving the process, and it is also encouraging team-work.’
DANCE:
Thanks to the support of GivetoColombia, through the bi-weekly Dance and theatre sessions in Los Linderos and Buritaca (sponsored by The Climbers Shop), Lili Millien, our theatre lead shared ‘Communication and friendship have been significantly strengthened. We continued the process implemented last year of fostering a love for discipline. Understanding that it’s not an end in itself, but a tool for achieving wonderful things. The value of discipline is now part of the classroom culture and our agreements. I’m proud that the two communities are now friends, that the girls express their opinions and don’t get frustrated by differing opinions or group decisions. Each girl deeply respects our democratic process. I’m proud of the work they do despite difficult conditions, the Linderos group for instance rehearses on a court with dogs, children riding bikes, and shouting, and yet they stay focused and maintain a positive attitude.’
The hard work paid off, with 20 dancers performing “Thank You Water,” a dance of gratitude during Water Month at Playa Bonita. Many parents came to watch them, which was a novelty and a success. ‘Thank you so much for all the love you show my girls,’ Yudimar, mother of Rogelis, Luz-Mary, and Angeli Mendoza.
‘After the performance, four boys who attended enrolled in the dance class. They are now signed up for the next event, on April 30th, a play with dance to help close the MoveforthePlanet programme.’
The Puerto Nuevo dance group also shone with mesmerising performances at the Festival of Water in Mendihuaca. To watch the show in full, please click HERE.
A fitting last performance, for our outgoing Dance lead Laura Tomasa, who helped us grow our dance programme from the ground up to now 50+ children enjoying and building their confidence and self-esteem through dance, twice a week, every week! She also masterminded our participation in the unforgettable series of Santa Marta Carnivals. Thank you Laura, your legacy will live on in our community dance programme forever!
FOOTBALL:
In Q2, we are going to do a HUGE feature on football with our league and football tournaments taking centre stage. For our Q1 summary therefore, we are going to share that we had 98 girls and 104 boys playing football on average each week, despite the rain and we have added a new girl session in Guacoche (La Llanta).
Keiner, our programme lead, also fed back that he has seen a ‘significant increase in participants self-esteem and confidence, a greater motivation to attend training sessions and activities and an increase in the positive use of free time outside of football activities.’
INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY PROGRAMME:
Our programme most in need of external funding, we have worked hard behind the scenes in Q1 to connect with partners who could help support our programmes in the community of Quebrada del Sol and surrounding villages. To read our ‘Strengthening Indigenous Culture through Art and Joy’ project presentation for 2026, please click HERE.
Our multi-sports, football and environmental education programmes have continued and the highlight of the term has been at birdwatching club, with the girls’ football session in Mamey a close second.
‘Bird-watching has helped us to see our territory differently. The birds are telling us how the forest is doing and we must take care of it.’ – Anonymous participant questionnaire feedback.
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION:
Our MoveforthePlanet project in partnership with adidas and Common Goal once again took centre stage in Q1 with 80+ hours of environmental education sessions each month, working across all programmes and with all Foundation staff and participants.
Working with the Indigenous Community has also been key to the project’s success and you can read more about our partnership working HERE.
The two stand-out events of the term, included: A day of environmental activities for 60 children at the Agua Madre at Playa Bonita and the Dia del Agua, on 22nd March, an all-community event to celebrate water, in partnership with 12 local foundations. The highlight of the day was the incredible performance of the P.Nuevo dance group in front of a 200+ person crowd!
The regular Eco-club, Bird-watching, Film night, dance and art eco-themed activities could also fill a newsletter of their own. With the MoveforthePlanet project coming to an end, with adidas prioritising improvements to the environmental sustainability of their supply chain for 2026 and beyond, we are now seeking an external funding partner for this beautiful programme. If you would like to support or know any potential partners for our ‘Protecting the Heart of the World’ project, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
LITTLE KIDS ACTIVITIES:
In Q1, there were 31 LKA sessions with numbers continually growing throughout the term (now stabilising at 10), and the progress of this new group, as shared by our returning programme lead Paola Bolano, has been really pleasing:
‘The participants have shown strong adaptation, socialization, and trust-building with peers and teachers. This has created a safe, harmonious environment where autonomy and emotional regulation have improved significantly. Children are now managing their routines independently, expressing emotions more openly, and strengthening their communication, and fine motor skills through creative, play-based activities.
The most notable progress was seen in Ainara, who transitioned from dependence on her mother to confidently managing her own tasks, and in Jonnier, whose curiosity was nurtured through more challenging activities that have boosted his motivation and learning.
Special events such as the Mendihuaca school field trip, natural clay activity, garden restoration, and all the MFTP environmental activities, have enriched the programme, fostering creativity, teamwork, environmental responsibility, and emotional bonds. Highlights like planting seedlings and the mountain trip underscored the children’s connection with nature, joy in shared experiences, and meaningful learning beyond the classroom. Overall, the trimester reflected growth in the groups independence, resilience, and community spirit.’
Thank you very much to Chrissie and David Frere-Cook for your incredible support of this programme since its very beginning.
CHILD SAFEGUARDING AND WELLBEING:
Across the first quarter of 2026, the Wellbeing programme focused on strengthening three core socio‑emotional skills—resilience, adaptability, and uncertainty management—through experiential, play‑based activities. Across 62 sessions, 80+ children from our Wellbeing Clubs and over 350, from other programmes, participated. The methodology allowed children to not only understand these concepts but to apply them in real situations involving change, frustration, and unpredictability. Clear improvements were observed in frustration tolerance, emotional regulation, adaptability, and willingness to engage with the unknown. Children increasingly used self‑regulation tools, supported one another, and responded to challenges with greater calm and flexibility:
‘What I feel most proud of is seeing how many participants have transitioned from impulsive reactions to more conscious and regulated responses, demonstrating real integration of the tools learned and a stronger capacity to face challenging situations.’ – Paola Perez, El Rio Foundation Psychologist.
OTHER:
Throughout 2026, we have had an amazing volunteer team supporting our community activities and on-site fundraising. They have also clearly really enjoyed being part of the Foundation life, as we have had a record 78% (14 volunteers) extend their stay with us beyond their initial commitment.
El Rio hostel has supported us incredibly yet again at the start of the year, co-funding a beautiful new office space (the first building you see as you enter El Rio, do come and say hello!). Through the Bonanza festival and April Foundation fundraising party, @riohostels have also contributed to a month plus of Foundation educational activities. Thank you to our volunteer and fundraising leads Calum, Harry and Sofia, it’s been an absolute pleasure to work with you and admire the effortless joy you brought to every day at the Foundation!
And huge kudos to our Operations team (Ximena, Jessica and Danelis) who have had to be extremely flexible in the face of constantly changing and challenging external circumstances.
CONCLUSION:
With the relentless heavy rains and devastating floods closing schools for the first two months of the year and growing political unrest around election season, the importance of the Foundation’s work has been brought into even sharper focus.
To support our work, we are now pro-actively seeking funding partners for our sports, arts, wellbeing, Indigenous and environmental education projects in particular. If you would like to help ‘Protect the Heart of the World’ or simply bring much needed education and joy to a post-conflict zone, please don’t hesitate to get in touch or share ideas of possible funding avenues we can explore. Our donation to smiles ratio is particularly outstanding and all donations are most welcome: link HERE.
Thank you very much for your incredible support and best wishes for a fantastic summer ahead!
Kind regards,
Felix and the El Rio Foundation team.
