Benposta in Colombia acquires its own identity through its presence and consolidation in various regions of the country. Since its foundation in Tocancipá-Cundinamarca on April 17, 1974, the headquarters was moved to the city of Bogotá (eastern hills) in 1980. Later, in 1983, a group of 30 children and adolescents, together with three coordinators, moved to VILLAVICENCIO (Meta) to respond to an "emergency" that affected many children and adolescents in this region, from which the Benposta Pedagogical Headquarters in Los Llanos was born. In December 1989, two groups of citizens from the Llanos headquarters went to MONTERÍA (Córdoba) and RIOHACHA (Guajira) in order to share closely the difficult situation created by the political, social and economic violence that affected thousands of families where children were most affected, and to initiate a coordinated process with the municipality and local organizations that would later enable them to decide on the possible institutionalization of Benposta. After some time of presence in these two regions, Riohacha will be left temporarily, while in Montería the proposal will be consolidated in the "CANTACLARO" sector, creating a new educational center. Currently, in 2018, Benposta will be active in its three-regional headquarters in Bogotá (National Coordination), Villavicencio (Meta-Llanos Regional) and Montería (Córdoba Regional). Through the regional offices, various programs and projects are developed and implemented based on the specific conditions of each territory, always using the established principles and guidelines as a reference.
REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS:
These are institutional ways of expressing Benposta in the regions. They are operated by local technical teams under the responsibility of a Regional Coordinator, appointed by the General Assembly of the Association. The Regional Coordinators are part of the Board of Directors and the National Coordination Team. The Regional Offices have technical, administrative and programmatic autonomy.
PROTECTIVE ENVIRONMENTS:
These are programmatic actions of Benposta within the framework of the project "Special Protection Network - Guarantees and Opportunities for Life" (Red de Protección Espqciql - Garantías y Oportunidades para la vida). The project aims to respond to particular situations of children and young people in the territories and to strengthen "local protective networks" with the direct participation of children, young people and their families, educational centres and local organisations. Benposta develops this proposal based on alliances with local partners and assigns permanent technical teams with presence and identity with the territory (professionals in psychology, social work, community promotion), teams that assume responsibility for the process of identification, support and accompaniment.
