More than 20 years ago, Best Buddies Colombia began to demonstrate that professional inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities was not only possible, but had a transformative impact on society. For people with intellectual disabilities, who they call Soul Friends, this meant the opportunity to feel productive, part of society and able to contribute to their household economy. For their families, this could mean additional income and the opportunity for the mother or father to stop acting as caregiver. For companies, it was the opportunity to take advantage of this talent.
“Colombia loses between 5.3 and 6.9 percent of its gross domestic product by not providing jobs to the disabled population,” says Alejandra Arenas, the lawyer who has led the organization for 11 years and who found in the foundation a way to transform the pain of losing her three disabled children into a life goal.
The bet was innovative even in the face of the founding objectives of the parent company of Best Buddies, in the United States. “All programs around the world (the foundation is present in more than 50 countries) start with a friendship program, based on volunteering to help develop social skills through interaction,” explains Arenas. In Colombia, Bernardo Vargas and Olga Lucía Lacouture, the couple who brought the initiative to the country in 2003, have set a more ambitious goal: preparing them to assume responsibilities with autonomy. For Soul Friends, this change had a huge impact. “They told us ‘I’m cured’. Although it’s not an illness they need to be cured of, they say it because they feel equal to others, they feel valued,” Arenas says.
The successful model combines training, monitoring and alliances. In their skills school, Soul Friends reinforce the essential aspects of professional life: communication, time management, task resolution, teamwork. There, they prepare to gain independence. Then comes professional integration, thanks to trainers who work directly with companies. “The coach is like the wheelchair of Soul Friends in their work,” Arenas explains. Their job is to adapt tasks, design clear routines and support teams so that the connection is lasting. Nothing here is symbolic: each position meets the real needs of companies and adds value to their operations.
Currently, the foundation works in alliance with more than 100 companies, including Homecenter, Juan Valdez, El Corral and eight other companies of Grupo Nutresa, D1, Ramo and Oxxo, which currently have almost 800 Amigos del Alma formally linked. In 20 years, 2,200 jobs have been generated in different regions of the country, from San Andrés to Nariño.
Reaching this milestone was not easy. “In the beginning, we had to start by breaking the stigma and, sometimes, even explaining that disability was not an illness,” Arenas recalls. The first company to bet on the program was Alkosto. “We saw a simple but powerful opportunity to generate real employment for people for whom their intellectual disability had closed doors,” says María Isabel Morcillo, director of selection and development of the company. For Friends of the Soul, in the majority of socio-economic strata 1, 2 and 3, this represented the unexpected expectation of being able to retire or contribute to family purchases. For Alkosto, a positive transformation of the organization’s culture has begun. “We now have more supportive teams, more respectful environments and a greater sense of belonging,” adds Morcillo.
Due to the changes that the process involves in the work, another key element has been the support of the team of lawyers of Posse Herrera Ruiz, who for more than two decades has been committed to working with the foundation and allied companies to guarantee the security and clarity of the processes. They designed viable contractual models, provided advice on reasonable adjustments, resolved legal issues and supported complex situations. “Our role is to generate trust so that companies take the plunge and maintain it,” explains Mariana Posse, founding partner of this firm.
In 2025, the law firm supported the foundation in its educational work on one of the changes introduced by the new labor reform: the obligatory nature for companies to hire people with disabilities, a key step in the task that Best Buddies had developed.
For Arenas, the challenge continues. “Our dream is to open opportunities to Soul Friends who cannot transport themselves, to those who do not have language and to those who have a more pronounced autism spectrum. We are working on a project in this direction,” he explains. She is convinced that professional inclusion is not a cost, but a competitive advantage for businesses and society.
The dimension of Best Buddies Colombia’s impact is reflected in experiences such as that of Genar Güell Reales, who joined the foundation 10 years ago and has been a dining room assistant at the El Corral restaurant chain in Barranquilla for 7 years. “Before discovering the foundation, I felt sad and helpless,” he recalls. And he lists everything that a stable job has brought him: “Feeling peaceful, providing for my family, having my own life plan. Before, I was very shy. Now, I talk to everyone. I am already very independent,” says the man who is already in his tenth semester of law at Rafael Núñez University and who is financing his studies.
About The Author
