Paso a Paso Scholarships

by Haroldo Suárez

We now have 21 students in the Paso a Paso program, two of whom are being supported directly by Grupo Seguros Bolívar-Zuana, a Colombian conglomerate, which has also made a large contribution toward supporting the overall program.

Our annual scholarships were recently awarded in Santa Marta. For the occasion, our student Edouard, who is studying graphic arts, painted a large canvas depicting a woman weaving a blanket of dreams. All mothers and fathers had to attend the ceremony. (This is key; each of them writes a pledge to support their children throughout their participation in Paso a Paso, otherwise we will withdraw our support.) The dream is to carry all 21 students through to the end of their schooling, and to empower them to reach their full potential.

The students sang for the audience and performed a short drama aimed to inspire businesses to support young people’s efforts to better their lives, and everything was recorded for radio and television use. An article about the program, with a large picture of everyone, appeared in Diario de Hoy (Today’s Journal).

Representatives of the business sector pledged to work towards engaging more people within their reach. The local radio station offered to air everyday, on a free basis, a short piece about the program to encourage interest from people and businesses.

I think this year will be our best yet.