Fundación Artistica y Social La Familia Ayara

Across Colombia, poverty, displacement, armed conflict, urban violence, unemployment, and lack of access to quality health services and educational opportunities conspire to keep adolescents from making a healthy transition to adulthood, despite their aspirations to get ahead. Founded in 1996 by a group of Colombian youth, La Familia Ayara draws on hip hop culture’s potential to promote positive youth development by engaging young people in a language that is relevant to their daily lives, as well as provide a social support network, a means of self-expression, a sense of global belonging, a heightened social consciousness, and an opportunity to be surrounded by positive role models. La Familia Ayara’s workshops and public programs use hip hop as a tool for personal development, goal setting, income generation, and community education, directly engaging young people in efforts to build a culture of non-violence and solidarity while breaking down discriminatory attitudes and practices in Colombian society.

EMpower’s second grant supports Ayara to reach new cohorts of youth through its cultural center, with a focus on adolescent girls.