This summer, our employee, Anna, visited the FUNDAEC organization in Colombia and you will read some of Anna’s experiences with FUNDAEC. FUNDAEC’s programs have been supported by TwoWings for years. In the course of this visit, she got to know more about the country, culture, and the educational programs. It was discovered that the relationship between TwoWings and FUNDAEC could be deepened, and new insights could be gained.  

You visited the FUNDAEC program in Colombia this summer. What were your first impressions of the country?

It served the clichés that you have in your mind about Colombia. Before I had even arrived, I already had several extensive conversations with strangers who were always eager to help me or give me information about the country, so that my stay there would be as pleasant as possible. As a European, I am not quite used to this kind of effusive cordiality towards strangers. But it went on the whole time. The hospitality is unparalleled. I learned to dance samba in a living room and learned something new every day. 

FUNDAEC's programs are mostly concentrated in rural areas, far away from urban centers. What was the journey like?

I can say my experiences with FUNDAEC and Colombia were adventurous. To get from the city of Cali to the surrounding villages, we usually took a special kind of cab. These particular cab drivers call themselves pirates because they operate in a legal gray area, but they are often the only way to get from point A to point B. In any case, my recommendation is if you are looking for an adrenaline rush, get in one of these pirate cabs! Most of the time, you're not alone! You'll be joined by other people who need to travel in the same direction. Traffic rules quickly lose their validity during such a ride and you have this feeling that you are on a roller coaster ride!  

Based on your experiences with FUNDAEC, what makes rural areas different from what we know here?

Well, there are mostly no paved roads and the buildings look makeshift. Glazed windows are a rarity, but this is fine due to the warm climate. Everything is built very openly, but the lack of infrastructure is all too obvious. I have been in areas where access to drinking water is a challenge, which is why diseases are also very common among the population. Something that even though I have seen there I still find hard to imagine!  

But now about the programs of FUNDAEC. From your experiences with FUNDAEC, how do you imagine the life of a FUNDAEC student? What are the teaching methods, and daily routines?

In principle, FUNDAEC has launched many programs, from schools to community-based projects on environmental protection. But at this point, I would like to focus on one program, in particular, the "Supporting Community Leaders Program". This program helps mostly young people to take responsibility for their education, their community, their families, and their neighborhoods. Knowledge is imparted, but not only that, in parallel the skills to apply and pass on this knowledge are transffered, as well. It is a fixed part of this education to start social programs in their respective neighborhoods and involve more and more people in a process in which they actively work on the progress of the communities. 

The students themselves are guided in their entry into professional life and find many kinds of support in their programs. Theory and practice are seen as interdependent and not as two separate areas of knowledge transfer.  

Does learning work the way it does in Europe, where knowledge is still often imparted through frontal teaching?

As I just mentioned a moment ago: No. from my experiences with FUNDAEC, students are encouraged to take ownership of their learning. Classes are made up of groups that try to work together to gain an understanding of FUNDAEC's materials. They are led by one or two tutors who act as facilitators and are responsible for creating an environment where everyone feels encouraged to share their thoughts and where consideration is given to all. And as I also mentioned, action is an essential part of education.