Marina Orth Foundation

At the Marina Orth Foundation, a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity, we are convinced that an education is a key engine of change and we create opportunities for the most vulnerable communities in colombia. We are in medellin, the capital of the department of antioquia plus three other rural towns and in nuqui, choco, one of the most bio-diverse, yet poorest areas of colombia on the pacific coast. We break barriers and build bridges to a bright future by providing our students the opportunity to learn english, robotics, technology, explore their vocations, and access scholarships. Beyond acquiring new skills and knowledge our students also develop essential skills, also teamwork, resilience, creativity, innovation, and critical thinking. (continued on schedule o)their knowledge of technology and english combined with strong interpersonal skills enables them to achieve their dreams and goals. We also train teachers to become more creative and digitally competent in the classroom so that their students can excel and contribute to the development of their country.in 2023, with thanks to our private/public partners, some of our achievements include:robotics:- winning third place at the international youth robotics competition world championship in seoul, korea, the only public school in colombia to do so- winning gold, silver, and bronze at the international robojam all stars competition- winning a silver medal at the robojam latin america- winning gold and silver medals at the international youth robotics competition in colombia- we also had 150 children attend summer english and robotics campsgoogle certifications:- thanks to an alliance with the international youth Foundation, seven 10th and 11th grade students obtained data and information technologist analyst certificates from google after studying/working the program for 360 hours.online english mentoring:- 72 students improved their english speaking skills by having weekly meetings with university students from the us to practice conversational english. It is a win-win for all participants.virtual educa 2023:- for the second year in a row, we presented at virtual educa 2023, a worldwide virtual conference of educators. This year our presentation "integrative stem approach: a look at rural education in the colombian context" was the only colombian presentation in the "evaluation, quality, inclusion and coexistence" module.social-emotional skills program:- two of our schools participated in a pilot program to strengthen the personal, psychosocial and academic development of children between the ages of 7-11. We hope to expand the program in the future.