The José Gers Foundation
is a non-profit organization created to support social initiatives in Cali and its area of influence.
The José Gers Foundation began work in December 2015 in order to give formality and continuity to the work that the GERS company and its support group have carried out for more than 20 years, focused on the El Hormiguero community and the Santa Josefina Bakhita Parish.
The foundation is supported by people of good will, companies in the sector and other foundations such as the Lima Bohmer Foundation, Valle del Lilí Foundation, Tecnoquímicas, Umas Foundation, Renacer Latino, among others.
The work has been focused on improving the conditions for education, nutrition, technical, artistic, sports and cultural training of the children and youth of the La Asunción school located in the community of El Hormiguero. The Foundation also contributes to the construction and development of the Santa Josefina Bakhita Parish and is currently working on the construction of the parish house and parish office.
The Hormiguero Community
Located at kilometer 6 via Puerto Tejada, it has more than 10,000 very low-income people that reside there. The people of El Hormiguero belong to the Afro-Colombian community who work mainly collecting sand from the Cauca River and as employees of farms in the region. 360 children study at the La Asunción School.
Establishment of the Mission
In the 1970s, Rosa Amalia Garcés, from the community of the Little Sisters of the Asunción, began a mission in El Hormiguero based on education, social support, and Catholic formation.
At the beginning of the 1980s, Rosa Amalia founded the La Asunción School that provides education to more than 360 children. The school was later ceded to the Archdosecis of Cali for proper administration.
Thanks to the management of Archbishop Dario de Jesus Monsalve, in 2015 the approval of a parish in El Hormiguero with the name of Santa Josefina Bakhita was also achieved.
The work has focused on improving the conditions for education, nutrition, technical, artistic, sports and cultural training of the children and young people of the La Asunción School located in El Hormiguero.
Our Focus
