Fundación Carvajal (FC) has requested that our team of graduate students from Columbia University’s
School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) serve as consultants to support their goal of determining
the needs and aspirations of at-risk youth in Cali and Buenaventura, Colombia. FC’s rationale for this
project was to gain an outside perspective on their programs for and engagement with youth by means
of an academic perspective that adds insight from case studies and literature review from experts in the
field of at-risk youth. With this in mind, if FC can utilize some of our recommendations, it will be better
positioned to impact the ever-growing problem of disengaged youth in a positive manner.
The aims of this project are to understand how at-risk youth interact with society and to implement the
changes necessary to improve their quality of life. During two field visits to the cities of Cali and
Buenaventura in January and March of 2015, our team conducted focus groups and interviews to gather
information on youth; specifically at-risk youth. We have analyzed the findings from our fieldwork, in
combination with the results of extensive research conducted in New York City, which included
literature reviews, expert analyses, and evaluations of several successful case studies from throughout
Latin America.