The Buen Comienzo program, recognized for its comprehensive approach to early childhood care in Medellín, has evolved with the implementation of Buen Comienzo 365. This new project, led by Diana Carmona, aims to ensure that children continue to receive care during weekends and holidays, periods that the program previously did not cover.
“Buen Comienzo 365 was created as a strategic project to extend comprehensive care to our children, including weekends and holidays,” explained its director. This program, which began in 2024 as a pilot, has initially focused on the most vulnerable areas of Medellín. “We selected five districts based on criteria such as the number of children in early childhood, levels of poverty, and food insecurity,” she added.
The districts selected for this initial phase were: Popular, Manrique, Villahermosa, and the corregimientos of San Cristóbal and San Antonio de Prado. In these areas, the program not only focuses on delivering food packages but also incorporates an educational component that involves families in educational activities during school breaks. “We are providing a pedagogical kit for families to work at home during weekends and holidays, strengthening bonds and promoting family interactions,” commented Carmona.
A key feature of Buen Comienzo 365 is the continuity in food care. The same entities that operate during the week in the kindergartens are responsible for delivering food rations on weekends and during holidays. “When families pick up the children on Friday, they take home a package with ready-to-eat foods, suitable for the age of the little ones, and with no added sugar, ensuring a high nutritional value,” she explained.
Additionally, the program also has a family modality through which pregnant and breastfeeding mothers receive a monthly food package. “With Buen Comienzo 365, we are improving these packages, adapting the products according to the age of the children or the state of the mother, to ensure they receive foods with high nutritional value,” Carmona specified.
With Buen Comienzo 365, it is projected to impact more than 7,200 girls and boys in the institutional modality, and another 7,190 in the family modality, benefiting a total of around 14,000 girls and boys, as well as 1,665 pregnant and breastfeeding mothers. The selected districts will be the first to benefit due to their high levels of vulnerability, which include a higher percentage of children under five years old, a high Multidimensional Poverty Index, and a large proportion of households with moderate and severe food insecurity.
One of the biggest challenges has been getting families to understand the importance of this additional support. “At first, they had many concerns, but the response has been very positive. They tell us that this extra time allows them to share more as a family and participate in the educational activities we propose,” the director noted.
The program has also introduced social mobilization days in the districts, where educational, artistic, cultural, and recreational activities are held. These days aim to identify needs and bring public offerings closer to the communities, coordinating with other actors, such as the health sector, and fostering an active community committed to early childhood. “We have mobile units that are present on weekends in the districts, promoting meaningful experiences of participation and mobilization,” Carmona added.
The director emphasized the importance of continuous care to prevent food insecurity during school breaks. “During holidays, many children in Medellín experienced changes in their nutritional status due to not receiving the daily meals we provided in the kindergartens. This is what we want to change,” she stated. In this regard, Federico Gutiérrez, the mayor of Medellín, also highlighted that “hunger and food insecurity do not take vacations”.
The project has an investment close to 14 billion pesos for 2024 and will be implemented gradually in all the districts during the four-year term. In total, an estimated investment of around 1.5 trillion pesos in the program is projected.
“To give a reference of how Buen Comienzo is being strengthened, the previous investment in the program was around 869 billion pesos, and we have increased the value to 1.5 trillion because our priority is our children. As we have a city that takes care of them, as well as pregnant and breastfeeding mothers, we will be well. This is the most beautiful program that the city has and should be mandatory in all cities in the world, which is to take good care of our children,” Mayor Gutiérrez said.
The project also includes continuous evaluation of the impact on participating children. “We are conducting more frequent height and weight measurements, adapting the protocols to conduct nutritional assessments biweekly or monthly depending on the child’s condition,” explained Carmona. This evaluation will allow for adjustments to be made to the program and to expand it to new districts in the future, as well as to respond quickly to cases of acute malnutrition to ensure that children receive the appropriate care according to their needs.
The District Administration highlighted the commitment of the business sector to strengthen early childhood care. The Fundación Éxito, for example, donated more than 1 billion pesos that benefited 4,200 households with food packages in the family modality. Additionally, during the past Holy Week, 29,000 food rations were delivered to all participants in the program.
Care is not limited just to the children of Buen Comienzo 365. Soon, the execution of “Nutrir para Sanar, Sanar para Crecer” will begin, an integrated program included in the District Development Plan Medellín Te Quiere 2024-2027, which aims to overcome malnutrition in early childhood with a personalized approach, from identification to recovery. An interdisciplinary team will work to reduce acute malnutrition, prevent chronic malnutrition, save lives, and close social gaps.
In Carmona’s words, the goal is clear: “to continue qualifying the care, ensuring that it is comprehensive and of quality, not only in nutrition but also in pedagogical support and social mobilization.”
With Buen Comienzo 365, Medellín is moving towards a more inclusive and continuous care for its youngest population, ensuring that no child is left without the necessary support for their well-being throughout the year.
*Content developed with the support of the Alcaldía de Medellín.