El Hormigon Armado

El Hormigón Armado has been working since 2005 with the working and street children and youth of La Paz, Bolivia. Our particular focus is initially on shoe shiners, a particularly marginalized population. Currently, the Reinforced Concrete Collective is made up of shoe shiners, windshield wipers, street vendors and women - mothers; in addition to their children and other members of their families, which means a direct support to about 200 people and 400 people indirectly. Part of the informal economy, the activity is not protected by labor laws. Many workers are minors, with low levels of education and live in poverty, and a significant segment of them is homeless.

El Hormigón Armado works to defend and highlight the dignity of the shoe polishing trade and to urge society towards solidarity. We emphasize and work for the urgent need to protect working children and adolescents from the dangers that can turn the work into exploitation or be negative for their proper development. Our interaction with the beneficiaries has as its main objective to reinforce their self-esteem and to provide them with the necessary tools to achieve their personal goals and aspirations.