On Monday, October 22, the Faber-Castell company, together with the Books and Books publishing house, presented the books “Gonzálo and Manuela” and “Lupe and Rinoberta” along with their coloring box, to the children of the Pies Descalzos Foundation in Barranquilla promoting the “Colores Piel” (Skin Colors) project. The goal of this project, part of the Day of Respect for Cultural Diversity, is to help children recognize that skin color is not only the pink that is universally known. Children learn to look at the many different skin tones there are, and that we all should accept each one of us as we are.

For Andrés García, national marketing manager of Faber-Castell Colombia, this initiative is a great example of how to educate the new generations about respect and tolerance. “Through colors as a pedagogical tool we have achieved that children understand the importance of recognizing and accepting that in a country as diverse as ours there are multiple colors that identify us as Colombians”.

Impact of the Project

For two years, the “Colores Piel” project has been responsible for taking its message to different institutions of the Foundation, with the aim of promoting respect and tolerance through an activity as simple as coloring. This is why Sandra Molina, national manager of the Books and Books Reader Plan, has decided to support Pies Descalzos in this campaign. “It constitutes a unique opportunity for children and young people to recognize through reading multicultural scenarios that demand from each social actor an inclusive and tolerant position. Generating these spaces of reflection with the students, without any doubt, contributes in the construction of a better country.”

Students learn in a didactic way that any color of the skin is equally important and that it is an essential part of the cultural diversity of any nation. Néstor Martínez, the rector of the Pies Descalzos Educational Institution in Barranquilla, leaves us a message of what “Colores Piel” is really about, “It appears they are just pencils, but beyond the context, it is looking at the difference in colors and the most important thing is that we learn to accept each one of us as we are.”