Rotary paints Colombia - 2021

On the occasion of the 116th anniversary of Rotary International, our Rotary e-Club Colombia Innova thought: What to do to paint Colombia with smiles as part of this holiday?

​ Many ideas arose and the one that had the greatest impact was organizing school kits to be donated to children in vulnerable communities. In this way we help students to be prepared to learn, feeling happy to contribute so that during the school year, low-income children have the tools they need to facilitate the learning experience.

This is how a program of donations destined for this purpose is launched. Full of enthusiasm and solidarity that characterizes us as Rotarians, and with the support of our friends and the participation of the Medellín Bolivariana Rotary Club, we were able to collect 7,415,000 pesos.

The distributor where the school supplies were bought, also joined the activity offering a very good discount, with which the kit was more complete at a better price; 20,000 pesos each (USD 6). Made up of colors, pencils, tempera, markers, blocks, notebooks, geometric game, pencil sharpener, eraser, in short, very necessary tools for the start of this new year of studies.

On February 19, we proceeded to distribute these kits to 346 children in two communities of our beloved Atlantic coast, 110 in the Mamá Lina foundation, in the municipality of Repelón (Atlántico), which works for the development and entrepreneurship of female heads family, thinking of their children and the needs of their first days of school. Simultaneously, another team of partners delivered 236 kits to the Departmental Technical Educational Institution "SAN JOSE" in Sitio Nuevo (Magdalena), a municipality that has been a victim of violence and with a population living in poverty.

This enriching activity led us to ratify the importance of giving, the gift of serving, detachment from oneself, thinking of others. It was an opportunity to get to know in depth the problems of regions in great need of helping hands in search of improving their quality of life.

For the children it is a source of joy to start the school year with the supplies they need, that gives them peace of mind, and for the members of the Colombia Innova Club it was a wonderful experience. Seeing the smiles of the children remained an indelible stamp on our souls and that points in our memory the commitment not to forget territories that need good will and the desire to serve as is our slogan as Rotary International.