There is an exciting private-public partnership taking place in Venezuela on the same soil where the 19th-century independence hero Simón Bolívar announced an end to slavery years ago.
It all started when 500 poor families decided to squat on a stretch of the privately owned Santa Teresa Sugar Plantation and Rum Distillery. The 18,300-acre hacienda’s owner didn’t respond as most land owners would have – provoking a bloodly confrontation – instead, he welcomed them onto his land and negotiated a way for the majority to work while also receiving housing. Education, job training, and even gang prevention programs – also supported by the government – are some of the initiatives that have impacted the local community there since the first program was started in 2000.
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