How Bogotá cares for its family caregivers: From dance classes to job training

From Rhitu Chatterjee / NPR: A unique program in Bogotá called Manzanas del Cuidado (Care Blocks) provides free activities and services to unpaid caregivers in local neighborhoods. These services span everything from wellness classes to professional training to educational courses.

Read the original story here.

Read about other wellbeing initiatives for caregivers.

Issue Areas:

Caregiving, Gender Rights, Health and Wellbeing, Mental Health

Impact Areas:

Health and Wellness, Redefining Institutions

Actors:

Government

Communities Served:

Caregivers, Womxn

Strategies:

Changing Narratives, Designing Culturally Specific Solutions, Increase Education / Insights Sharing

Success Factors:

Embracing the Power of Relationships, Engaging in Empathic Dialogue, Expanding Access, Help Rather Than Punishment, Overcoming the Big Challenges

Geographic Region:

Latin America and the Caribbean

Countries:

Columbia

Date:

October 16, 2023

More Resources:

Conversation with Hannah Rothschild

Hannah Rothschild is Lead of Knowledge Uptake and Communications at Bernard van Leer Foundation. Her background is a merged expertise in urban policy, multi-stakeholder collaboration, and strategic communication. Previous diverse roles, ranging from environmental start-ups to international organisations, have deepened...

California helps college students cut their debt by paying them to help their communities

From Gail Cornwall / The Hechinger Report: In an effort to help lower student debt while benefiting the community, the #CaliforniansForAll College Corps program provides 3,200 students with service jobs and pays them $700 a month. Click here to read...

Conversation with Chuck Spong

Chuck Spong is the Executive Director of Love Out Loud, a collaborative organization that connects leaders, volunteers, and resources to align efforts and mobilize communities in their areas of passion and giftedness. Since 2012, Chuck has focused on fostering partnerships...

Women Entrepreneurs Are Key To India’s Green Economy

From Deepali Khanna / Forbes: India’s Governmental program MUDRA Yojana sets up small loans to microentrepreneurs. Combined with SEMA (Self-Employed Women’s Association), the aim is to bolster growth of women entrepreneurs, reduce poverty, and increase the number of women entrepreneurs...

Sweet City’: the Costa Rica suburb that gave citizenship to bees, plants and trees

From Patrick Greenfield / The Guardian: Curridabat, a city in Costa Rica has extended citizenship to the flora and fauna of the city (most notably pollinators) in order to enhance efforts to create more green spaces and healthier local ecosystems....

Can Monthly Cash Payments Make Our Economy More Equitable?

From Sonali Kolhatkar / Yes! Magazine: Guaranteed income programs aim to reduce poverty by providing cash to those in need with no strings attached. One of these programs in New York City, The Bridge Project, focuses on helping women of...