Juanes' Project Seeks to Raise Funds, Train 2,500 Children on Peace Building

Juanes Aims to Increase the Peace

His foundation seeks to promote peace among children in violence ravaged areas.

With violence spiking in certain areas of Colombia, a project spearheaded by international star Juanes seeks to eschew a likely life of despair and an education in war for the country's children – in exchange for a foundation on peace building and hope.

Juanes' foundation, "Fundación Mi Sangre," partnered with Global Giving, an international fundraising website that hopes to "Build an efficient, open, thriving marketplace that connects people who have community and world-changing ideas with people who can support them."

The project's mission is to train children and youths from three of the most violent districts in the city of Medellín.

"To be responsible citizens, peaceful and to have the abilities required to become agents of change in their communities," according to the Global Giving page for the project.

The peace building initiative has a goal of raising $10,000 to teach the children. The project has raised $895 so far, but must still reach $4,000 to permanently stay on the Global Giving website until its final goal is attained.

In a video posted on the "Fundación Mi Sangre" YouTube page (below), Juanes detailed why his organization and projects like this are important to him.

“Education is the true revolution. I feel that way," he said in the video. "With education we can train peaceful men, men that in 15 years will not make the decision of arming themselves, but speaking out in order to defend their ideals."

The project comes amid an environment rife with conflict in certain districts of Medellín. The city's murder rate increased by 54.8 percent in the first three months of 2010, compared to the same period the previous year, with 503 reported homicides, according to a report released in April by Colombian human rights organization Personalidad de Medellín.

Fundación Mi Sangre's motto is "Por los hijos de tus hijos" or "For the children of your children," and Juanes makes it clear how much this message means to him.

"This can be a way of righting history's social wrongs in respect to our children," Juanes said. "Because it is our children who are our greatest source of hope that we have. We must invest in them, who are the seeds, so that tomorrow when they are men they won't declare war."

To donate click on the Global Giving page for the project.

Erika Garcia of Fox News Latino provided additional reporting for this article.

Contact Adrian Carrasquillo at Adrian.Carrasquillo@foxnewslatino.com or on Twitter @RealAdrianC.