85 volunteers from Grupo Empresarial Argos promoted transformation processes in Barú that will benefit more than 12,000 people

• The volunteer day lasted from Thursday 18 to Sunday 21 August, was led by the Grupo Argos Foundation and achieved the mobilization of 180 people including collaborators, allies and people from the community.
• During three days, different activities were carried out, such as the planting of 3,000 mangrove seedlings and the improvement of the infrastructure of the center for older adults and the educational institution of Ararca, as well as mentoring for artistic groups.
• Vamos Barú is an initiative that seeks to connect the needs of this peninsula in Bolívar with the skills and knowledge of its inhabitants and the collaborators of Grupo Argos and its businesses, Cementos Argos, Celsia, Odinsa and Summa, to contribute to the sustainable development of this territory.
• This project was developed in partnership with the Andi Foundation, an organization that has carried out more than 24 similar sessions in different departments of Colombia.

As part of the Grupo Argos Foundation’s commitment to promote processes of territorial transformation in the different regions of the country, this weekend the Vamos Barú volunteer day was held, in which 80 volunteers from Grupo Empresarial Argos participated in five fronts of work that will benefit more than 12,000 inhabitants of Barú in the long term.

Among the activities that were carried out was the planting of more than 3,000 mangrove seedlings and adaptations to the infrastructure of the community nursery, cleaning and improvement of the home for the elderly, of the street of the heirs in Santa Ana, the recycling point and the Educational Institution of Ararca. During the day, training workshops were also held to strengthen community empowerment, sense of belonging and entrepreneurship.

“We are working for the positive social and environmental transformation of Barú, a region rich in diversity and culture, in which we have built relationships of trust with the community to promote projects that generate value and that now also involve our collaborators. Our organization, In addition, it is promoting the development of this territory from an economic and job creation perspective with its Urban Development Business, which has generated large projects that have brought well-being to the region.”

María Camila Villegas – Operations Director Grupo Argos Foundation

“This is the first time that something like this has been seen in our community and that the company and the community work together in this way. For us it is very important because as a community we take ownership of the transformation processes in our territory.”

Karelis Moreis – Secretary of the Community Council of Ararca, Barú

The volunteer day that took place between Thursday 18 and Sunday 21 August mobilized 180 people including collaborators, allies and inhabitants of Barú. For this initiative, the Grupo Argos Foundation relied on the ANDI Foundation as a strategic ally to implement its intervention model based on empathy and respect to generate enriching experiences for both the communities and the volunteers, while allowing for closer ties with the environment. to the construction of a more inclusive and reconciled society.

This space also had the participation of the Decameron and Santo Domingo foundations, civil defense as well as the accompaniment of the Colombian National Navy and Civil Defense. Vamos Colombia is the volunteer project of the ANDI Foundation through which more than 145,000 people have carried out positive actions for reconciliation in more than 24 meetings between families from different territories, business leaders and members of the armed forces.