Fundación Pies Descalzos (FPD) is an organisation founded by the artist Shakira in 1997, focussing on education in Colombia for more than 15 years and aiming to help poor and impoverished children. The Fundación Pies Descalzos mission statement is "The Barefoot Foundation works to ensure that every Colombian child can exercise their right to a quality education.” FPD envisions getting the next generation of Colombians to find, through education, a vehicle to dream, build and fulfil their life plan.

Over a period of three years, the EAC/FPD “All in School” project will identify and enrol 34,000 OOSC into primary education. It will also aim to retain an additional 20,000 primary-school students who have been identified as at-risk of dropping out of primary education. The project will be implemented in the Colombian regions of Barranquilla, Cartagena, Choco, Medellin and the border territories with Venezuela.

The children reached through this project face multiple barriers and risks that prevent them from accessing or staying in school. Barriers include child labour, poverty, violence, poor infrastructure, the costs associated with education (uniforms/stationary) and child prostitution.

The All in School project has three core objectives:

• Increased access to primary education for OOSC in the project areas of Colombia;
• Increased retention of students/learners at risk of dropping out in primary education; and
• Improved institutional capacity of local education authorities to implement and sustain access and retention programmes for OOSC and at-risk students in their territories.

Project activities consist of a series of door-knocking enrolment drives, a media campaign, the distribution of school kits and uniforms, school-feeding and transportation programmes, teacher training in psychosocial support for at-risk children, capacity-building initiatives and after school academic support.

For more information about this EAC Implementing Partner, please visit the Fundación Pies Descalzos  website.