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The Wayúu Tayá Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-governmental, nonprofit organization founded in 2002 by Venezuelan model and actress Patricia Velásquez.

the Foundation began its operations in Mara-a region located in the Zulia state of Venezuela- where it has concentrated its efforts in assisting the Wayúu, an indigenous group comprised of over 300,000 people.

The Wayúu Tayá Foundation was created in order to help improve the lives of Latin-American indigenous people while maintaining and respecting their traditions, culture and beliefs.

The Foundation is headed by two operating Board of Directors, one in Venezuela and one in New York City

In order to be efficient, The Wayúu Tayá Foundationworks in conjunction with Fundación Wayúu Tayá— a Venezuelan nonprofit, non-governmental organization that operates in locally.

Fundación Wayúu Tayá'Smain responsibility is to identify the need and target population for all of Wayúu Tayá’s programs.

After evaluating the problems affecting this community, The Wayúu Taya Foundation decided to concentrate its efforts in the creation and expansion of The Roof Project.

The Wayúu Tayá Foundation’s priority is to open as many Roof Centers as possible.

Wayúu Tayá is working on its new program: The Roof Project.

The Roof Project is a unique, pan-Latin American, fully integrated Life Center. The Center combines an ambulatory care hospital, a preschool with a supplementary feeding clinic, and a women’s center where local womenl are taught and paid to make handcrafts while maintaining their culture.

Our first Roof Center openedy in Mara, Venezuela. At Wayúu Tayá's Roof Centers, children now receive two meals a day while they attend school. Furthermore, in the ambulatory nutrition center the children’s parents have access to crucial nutritional and medical information as well as supplies. The women’s center is providing the Wayúu women with access to education, family planning, and parenting classes.

Program participants will are provided with the tools necessary to create their handcrafts such as bags. The Foundation sells the handcrafts, thereby raising funds on behalf of the Wayúu people. The objective is to encourage these women to continue their tradition of handcraft and maintain their culture, while at the same time creating a viable workforce for them.

If you would like to know how you can help us by sponsoring a portion of The Roof Project, click here.