Fundacion Pies Descalzos

Today I decided to go to Fundacion Pies Descalzos, which translates to the Barefoot Foundation, in Barranquilla to see of an opportunity for me to volunteer there. I have always wanted to volunteer there ever since Shakira opened the foundation and if you didn’t know, I love Shakira. She has been my favorite artist since I can remember.  Apparently, I went to Colombia with my grandparents when I was about five or six years old and my parents told me that when I got back, I was singing her songs and they had no idea who she was.

I hopped on a bus first thing in the morning, paid 1500 COP and went on my way.  I think I am definitely getting better at this bus thing. Today I held on pretty tight and I only almost fell twice rather than fifty. It took about 30 minutes to arrive at the school. It's located in the village Eduardo Santos- La Playa. Pies Descalzos is a non-profit, non-governmental organization who accept children whose lives have been disrupted by violence and poverty hoping that someday they will grow up to be something they never thought could be achieved. There are currently six schools run in the diverse Colombian regions of Barranquilla, Altos de Cazucá and Quibidó. The school in Barranquilla opened in 2008 and provides quality bilingual education for 1500 impoverished children. “The school is also a center for community life for a neighborhood suffering from poverty and displacement”. The most important thing to do for children living in poverty is provide them with education. 

All I have to do is close my eyes and I can imagine their faces; I know that each child has a name, a heart, a dream; I know that their lives are just as valuable as yours or mine. Yet many of these children die every day in total abandonment. -- Shakira

I walked in through the gate past the guard and could not believe my eyes. The school is beautiful! It’s a very big school with children in pre-kindergarten to high school students (high school in Colombia is only up to 11^th grade). All the children wear uniforms and it’s the only thing that the parents have to spend money on. The boys wear khaki pants or shorts with a white polo that has the foundation logo on it. The girls wear the same uniform or a pink dress with a white polo. I walked towards the main office and spoke to the director, psychologist and volunteer coordinator. There were two other volunteers also wanting to participate. We all went to a conference room to discuss our ideas or goals. After much chatting, the director asked us if we were all interested in starting today, I said yes of course!

They gave us a brief tour of the school and we saw the music room, the cafeteria, the auditorium, the gymnasium and the library.

The Auditorium

The Gym

In the music room, the professor gave us a little demonstration of what he teaches in his classes. He mentioned he likes to teach typical Colombian music such as carnival music, cumbia, and more. The professor then asked us to participate and he let us play the big drum. We struggled with coordination but we managed. Unfortunately the videos are short because I was running out of memory.

 Music class

After the music class we went to a second grade class and we spoke to the children in English about our country. I spoke to them a little bit about Miami such as the weather and culture. The other two volunteers were from Boston. The children were amazed at how we spoke. Although they had no idea what we were saying, they were listening very carefully. We would translate what we said and then asked them questions about their country and cultural practices.

After today there will be a change of plans, I will volunteer here for a month and then two months at the foundation I was originally going to. The more the merrier!