The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) will provide a $1 million grant to a Colombia NGO for early childhood development services around the country, the development financing organization announced Tuesday.
Through the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), the IDB will give the grant to Fundacion Carulla, a Colombian NGO specializing in early childhood development.
Fundacion Carulla will use the money to create two new centers for low income families in rural areas in Colombia. The IDB believes these types of development centers can “improve the development of physical, cognitive, social and emotional capabilities of pre-school children.”
According to the IDB, “during 2008, only 32 percent of children under the age of 5 attended a community center, day care, or preschool in the country. The attendance rate is even lower in rural areas, with only 20 percent of children attending an early development center.”
Founded in 1961, the Fundacion Carulla has opened up 10 centers around the country that serve 2,700 Colombian children. By 2017, the organization plans to have opened 35 centers and to be helping 7,000 children aged 3 months to 5 years.