Together is about prevention. We consider with forethought how each action is a means of prevention. Over 45 year ago, we began putting our strategy into action by providing orphanages for children living on the streets of Colombia. We learned that children do better in families.
Today, while we still offer solutions to children who are without parental support, we have grown from a child-centered model to a grassroots community model where we address all three levels of poverty by working toward healthy communities, with healthy families, who have healthy children.
Models Centered Around Personal Relationships
Our models are centered around personal relationships with community leaders as well as their families and children.
We consider relationships to be of vital importance because they give opportunities for transformative change to occur, in spaces where relationships give reasons to trust again and be trusted.
Together does not approach relationships with a mentality of entitlement but instead gives honor and respect, which opens the door for transformative change.
We create partnerships without creating dependency.
We create partnerships without creating dependency, which allows people to feel ownership of solutions to overcome poverty. A sense of ownership leads to common goals and purposes which allows for beautiful, transformative changes to occur — this is the image behind everything that we do.
Communities, families and children awaken to their true purpose.
Our foundational purpose that supports every project and program that we work with comes from our ultimate goal to see communities, families and children awaken to their true purpose.
The resources required to help build divine dreams are offered and paired with the encouragement needed to help each individual start on the path to becoming self-sufficient.
Together works toward helping every project become self-sufficient.
Our strategy includes a long-term goal for each project to become self-sufficient. One example is a school in Bogota, Colombia.
Projects are supplemented with revenue opportunities according to their culture or location. Example: For projects in rural settings where cultures revolve around small-scale farmers, we encourage the development of farming resources (and these projects also provide food for the home itself). By contrast, projects in urban environments are encouraged to develop creative ideas that can be sold in local shops, markets, or the internet.
Revenue opportunities also create home environments where children learn to be apart of a successful family unit. (Together does not promote or participate in any form of child labor where children are used to fulfill a job for revenue.)