Company file of Intercambio Vzw

Company activities

Intercambio Vzw, who are we? Intercambio is a non-profit association registered in Belgium (0789970770) that accompanies volunteers during social projects, with the aim of protecting the basic rights of underprivileged youth and thus reducing social inequalities in this world. Why Intercambio? Intercambio is the Spanish word for exchange. We see volunteer programs as a form of exchange. Both the volunteer/trainee, the host organization and the target group (underprivileged youth) can learn from each other, i.e. the knowledge does not only go in one direction. Our missions 1. Equal opportunities for all children The Convention on the Rights of the Child, drawn up by the United Nations, states that every child has the right to the opportunity to develop optimally. We as an organization strive to support this objective through the organization of educational activities for disadvantaged youth. We strongly believe that every young person (regardless of socio-economic background) has unique talents. In order to further develop these talents, each of them needs a fair chance of proper guidance. As an organization, we want to do our part by supporting young people in the growth of their talents. 2. Encourage connections/exchange between diverse cultures. We want to promote and support intercultural exchange. Our goal is to encourage people to connect and interact with people from different backgrounds. In this way, people from different cultures understand each other better, which then contributes to intercultural solidarity and tolerance - two core values that represent our non-profit organization. Project Medellín (Colombia) English classes for underprivileged youth Within Intercambio, we strongly believe that learning other languages at an early age offers interesting opportunities for life. Therefore, we organize after-school English classes for the children of “La Divisa” (a disadvantaged neighborhood in Medellín, Colombia). 2.Volunteers In addition to a local teacher (which we finance as an organization), we send volunteers/trainees with an appropriate background from Belgium to Medellín. They prepare the lessons, teach, and organize activities that stimulate the use of the language (film club, cultural excursions, reading club, ...). Our organization is responsible for the guidance and coaching of these people, we also organize activities for them so they can get to know Colombian culture in a fun way. 3. Objectives of the project -Prevention: The English classes are part of a program (which also includes soccer, dance, etc.) organized by a local organization in order to prevent young people from getting involved in prostitution and/or drugs, two problems that the neighborhood is struggling with. -Safe environment: The classroom where we work is a place where the young people feel at home, where they can laugh with their friends, forget for a while the problems at home, ... -Empowerment: We want to empower the young people by making them realize that they can achieve positive things with their talents. -Future perspective: We want to use English classes to prepare the children for the job market in tourism. In addition, speaking English is also an advantage for obtaining a scholarship for higher education (both at home and abroad).