We live in a highly segregated society where our family name, gender, race or birthplace defines a good part of our fate. Inequality gaps are not only significant, but have become extremely polarized, thus increasing the concentration of wealth and social tension. In a world reaching historic levels of development, there is still 800 million people who live with less than 2 dollars a day, 175 million children who do not have access to early education (UNICEF, 2019), and at the pace we are going, we lack 99 years to level the field between women and men in political, social and economic matters (WEF, 2020). This is not about some people winning while many others suffer. We all lose with inequality. 

A highly inequal structure prevents social cohesion, increases tension among individuals, makes societies burst and makes sustainable development impossible to build. We believe the best way to achieve sustainable social development is by reducing inequality and we do this by intervening from three specific areas: education, public spaces and infrastructure and local economic development in developing countries. We coordinate these three areas horizontally with gender equity, inclusion and community engagement. In order to do it we focus on the most vulnerable population, particularly in rural areas, where 46% of the world population live today (WB, 2020). 

For us, it is not about the good and the bad, nor that some are the problem and the rest just need a solution. We think both the problem and the solution are part of an indivisible phenomenon to which we all belong and must work collaboratively as a society, so that the 1% concentrating approximately 26% of the world’s wealth understand their responsibility with the remaining 99%. That is how Fundación 99 was born; because we can all build a better society if we have the chance to develop with the qualities and tools we have, however, despite we all have the skills, we do not have the same opportunities.