With the intention of improving the housing conditions of certain vulnerable groups, the Colombian Department for Social Prosperity (Departamento para la Prosperidad Social or DPS) and Argos have signed an agreement for a strategic partnership aimed at replacing the earthen floors of the homes of those in the DPS program in the departments of Atlántico, Magdalena and Chocó.
Through this two-year partnership, Argos will supply its products at special prices, as they are necessary for placement of concrete floors in these homes, and additionally, it will provide technical advice and accompaniment to the benefitted communities, seeking to guarantee the sustainability of this initiative by ensuring that these communities can replicate what they learn.
Argos has been working on similar programs in other countries, such as Honduras and the Dominican Republic, where it has been estimated that replacing earthen floors with concrete floors can decrease parasitic infections and anemia in the homes’ inhabitants by close to 80 percent and increase their cognitive skills by 30 to 90 percent.
Through its Living Conditions Improvement program, DPS has been working on providing more dignified homes by constructing basic sanitation infrastructure and changing floors and roofs. In urban centers, bathrooms, kitchens and water and wastewater connections are at the center of their attention.
Jorge Mario Velásquez, Argos’ CEO, stated that “at Argos, we are strongly committed to communities and the population in general, and this is why we decided to join our efforts with the DPS. This is a very important project that will have a positive impact on the quality of life of hundreds of families.”
