Access the project's official documents:

• Download the Full Report
• Download the Executive Summary

For nearly two decades, Fundación Tropicalia has walked hand in hand with the community of Miches. Throughout this time, we have learned that true social transformation is not imposed from the outside; it is slow-simmered and patiently nurtured within families and the very fabric of the community. Through initiatives like Soy niña, soy importante, we have witnessed how providing girls with tools for self-confidence and leadership can change the course of their lives forever. However, as we actively listened to mothers, fathers, teachers, and community leaders, we were confronted with a legitimate and urgent concern: What about the boys? Where are the boys?

These questions marked the beginning of an essential evolution. We came to understand that our girls' progress cannot happen in a vacuum: it needs a relational anchor, one in which the positive transformation of boys is a key element. To build a safe environment that fosters well-being, also means the boys with whom girls share their classrooms, families, and futures, must also have spaces, resources, and role models through which to learn to be critical-thinking young men and empathetic caregivers. This is how our proposal to close the circle of care was born: a strategic and deeply human commitment to help boys and adolescents build healthy, peaceful futures and grow into creative, responsible leaders in their communities.

With the support of IDB Invest, drawing on the inspiration and methodological guidance of Equimundo's Global Boyhood Initiative, we developed a report and designed the pilot phase of Guardianes de Miches, a program shaped by the voices of more than 170 members of the municipality across 22 focus groups. The most valuable lesson from this experience is as clear as it is inspiring: boys are fundamental to any social transformation. The program was not created to point fingers or to correct, but to free boys from rigid stereotypes that, from an early age, push them toward emotional silence and risky behavior, or lead them to accept toughness as the only way to connect with others.

Working with our first cohort of 25 boys through 12 training sessions confirmed that when boys have a safe space and positive role models, they respond with extraordinary enthusiasm. They discover that asking for help is an act of courage, that they can express their emotions without fear, and that caring for their families, their classmates, and their surroundings is the most noble expression of true leadership.

Guardianes de Miches represents the evolution of our commitment to the region, which now takes a more comprehensive and relational approach. By offering our boys the same opportunities for human development as our girls, we strengthen and safeguard the impact of a long-term social investment and lay the foundations for happier, more capable families, with the ultimate goal of fostering a more equitable and just future for the entire region. We thank the community for its commitment to change, for placing their trust in this vision, and for showing us that when we care for all of our children, we transform our country's destiny from the roots up.

We invite you to explore the data, methodology, and community testimonies behind our commitment to child development in our region.

Access the project's official documents:

• Download the Full Report - Llegar a tiempo
• Download the Executive Summary