Friends of Colombia: A Peace Corps Legacy

Haroldo Suárez
President, The Magdalena Foundation, inc.

 This year there are two very important developments to report about the work of Friends of Colombia in its support to the Magdalena Foundation, Inc. and Paso a Paso. The first is a sponsorship program for individual MFI college scholars and the second is funding from a Colombian business conglomerate for the Paso a Paso’s children program. This is very encouraging.

As MFI moves towards a targeted deadline of December 2014, the support of some former Peace Corps volunteers has been taken to new highs. Six contributors responded to our call to sponsor a college student for five years. Arleen Cheston is sponsoring Eliana Pacheco Cervantes, who is studying health education at the Universidad del Magdalena (UM ). Maureen Orth is sponsoring José Gil Mojica, an indigenous student and a mentor in the Arzario Community, who will become a teacher when he graduates from UM . An anonymous donor is sponsoring Sergio Vergara Perez, a business administration student at UM . Mary Ray is sponsoring Liliana Santa Fe, who is studying at UM to become a language teacher. Sandra Lawrence, the treasurer of MFI and a former volunteer in Tonga, is sponsoring Claudia Amaya Torres, a veterinary student in Barrancabermeja. Ms. Charlotte Jones, a Canadian professor at Okanagan College in Western Ontario, is sponsoring Julia Perez Salas, a language student at UM . We are very grateful for this support and hope that others will take an interest in sponsoring our students.

Paso a Paso, the educational program created and funded with donations from FOC, supports 34 children in elementary and secondary schools. FUNDEHUM AC administers the program in Santa Marta. Two children will graduate from high school this year and six will graduate in December 2011. It is expected that MFI will provide support for a part of their future college programs.

This year, Alba Lucía Varela, President of Fundehumac and the Program Coordinator for both Paso a Paso and MFI, received a donation of about US$3,800 from the social fund of Seguros Bolívar, a business conglomerate in Colombia, to support Paso a Paso. Some of those funds will provide transportation, snacks and materials for the Paso a Paso workshops that are conducted by MFI scholars on a weekly basis. The balance will help fund college tuition for Paso a Paso graduates. It is hoped that this Colombian initiative will continue, providing some degree of continuity in the future.

These developments show how the work and generosity of Friends of Colombia members have helped the MFI program, which during the last six years has graduated 36 students. About 33 of these are fully employed professionals and contribute to their families and FUN DEHUM AC programs. As an educational program, Paso a Paso is generating interest from other sources. For example, a German family provides full sponsorship for two Arzario girls in Paso a Paso and at the end of the year, business entities donate over 200 gifts which are distributed in the communities where the children live.

On behalf of Magdalena Foundation, Inc., Paso a Paso and FUN DEHUM AC, I extend my deepest gratitude to FOC and to all the former volunteers who personally contribute to our programs.