Jakera Club Foundation
For the immediate future at Jakera Club Foundation, we will be co-running an additional project whilst maintineing full support for our school in Playa Colorada (which is currently temporarily closed due to the pandemic).
From Jakera Colombia base in San Gil Santander, we are equipping returning Venezuelan refugees with survival bags for their treacherous walk across Colombia and back to Venezuela.
Having left Venezuela with nothing, most have already made this daunting migration before, trekking the 600km plus from Venezuela, over freezing 4000m peaks and through 2000m deep desert canyons to get to Bogotá or even beyond.
All in search of dignity and simple place of work, to provide for immediate family.
Many did manage to resettle, and set them selves up with new lives in new communities. Often bringing kids and family across this dangerous migration in stages, building their new base slowly but carefully.
All for it to have been snatched away in the most unforeseen way of all. The global pandemic has costs huge numbers of Venezuelan migrants to loose their new livelihoods often overnight, seeing most evicted from their rental homes, they were left with no support and no choice but to make the uninviting and dangerous trek once more, but this time with all the family together.
Their was already enough prejudice against these migrants but with the added fear of spreading or catching the deadly virus, their challenge is all the more difficult.
Colombia is in lockdown and no public or private transport is permitted or available for returning Venezuelans.
Ultimately they have been shunned by the world and left to defend for themselves. Each day on the road here is dangerous and a matter of life and death.
Any donation will go directly into the hands off individual families, in form of survival tools, food, drink and hygiene essentials. Any small donation will go a very long way
'Jakera' travel company began in a small, humble fishing village in the North East of Venezuela, called Playa Colorada.
From the very beginning, their was need for us to get involved and lead community projects. A few years later, in 2002 'Jakera Club' was officially founded.
Our mission for the Club remains the same as always, to support and nurture the younger generation of this financially challenged fishing community, through; community awareness and extra curricula educational activities.
Today we are an official Foundation, and employ 8 full time teachers, who work Monday to Saturday giving a wide range of classes including; reading & writing, homework, football & sports, gymnastics, music and arts & crafts. We currently have 135 kids in the foundation aged between 3 and 16.
Everyday we also supply healthy and nutritious snacks for the kids of the foundation, these healthy snacks have become more and more important, due to the ever desperate economic situation in Venezuela.
Our plan with the money we raise? To finance the coming school year. Furthermore, as the situation in Venezuela continuous to worsen our plan for the coming year is to spend more time and money on nourishing the kids, with a healthy and nutritious, hardy, daily meal.
We also continue to maintain all subjects and all 8 teachers fully employed. Additionally our aim is to invest in two or more computers, and host IT classes, ensuring the kids aren't left behind.
With Love
Jakera Club Foundation, Playa Colorada, Venezuela
Natalie Topp (Gent) is raising these funds on behalf of her brother Brendan Topp working for the Jakera foundation in Venezuela.
She will be withdrawing the donations personally and transferring them with a bank transfer to the Jakera Foundation’s bank account with Bancolombia in Colombia.
