The ''Prime'' Reason We Love to Spend Time In Medellín, Colombia

Five years ago we traveled to Medellin, Colombia for our first extended visit abroad. Our plan was to learn Spanish by taking classes for a few months, become a wee-bit fluent, and then travel to other Spanish-speaking countries in the following years. In the process of learning Spanish, we became connected with Primed Community, a non-profit organization that brings free English classes to many underserved barrios (neighborhoods) of Medellín.

We started serving as volunteer English teachers and quickly fell in love with the people and culture of Medellín. And after five years, we have to say that the Primed Community is one of the ''Prime''  reasons we love to spend time in Medellín.

Primed's mission is to build up community through learning opportunities. By learning English, their adult students can often obtain better jobs as local tour guides and entrepreneurs. Their program, called ''Storytellers'', encourages each student to share their unique story (in both Spanish and English) with their friends, neighbors and visitors to their barrio.

The first year we assisted in the barrio of San Javier. Known as Comuna 13, this neighborhood was once considered one of the most dangerous in the world. But through the efforts of its local, city, and national leaders, Comuna 13 has been transformed into a cultural mecca. Innovative escalators bring citizens and tourists up the steep hills. Magnificent paintings tell the story of this community's re-birth. And thanks to Primed Community's free English classes, local tour guides now share their story, reflected in the local art, in both Spanish and English.

A couple of years ago, Primed expanded their program into another barrio known as Moravia. Moravia has a sad history in that it was the site of the municipal garbage dump for Medellin in the late 20th century. People, trying to escape the poverty and violence in other parts of the city and country, built ramshackle homes next to and sometimes on top of the piles of foul-smelling, decaying garbage. But recently, efforts have been made to clean up and improve the living conditions of this barrio, and citizens are working together to bring about a positive transformation. As this mural states:

No more garbage! Nature is sacred. Let's take care of our barrio.

We were able to experience a bit of this transformation first hand last year when Primed's Storytellers program spread to Moravia. We served as volunteer English teachers and quickly became addicted to the energy of our students. The following video is just a small example of the pride that we felt as we saw our students dedicate themselves to learning English in order to improve their own lives and the lives of their community.

The Moravia class ''graduated'' last September, and we were fortunate to be able to reconnect a few weeks ago with some of our former students. It was heart-warming to see the confidence of our students as they shared stories of how they are using their English skills to improve their job status as well as improve their community. One student is now an elementary teacher, and he is proud to be able to introduce English to his young students. Another student works as a barber, and his clientele now includes foreign tourists, all because of his ability to speak English.

 

This year we're happy to see Primed's Storytellers program expand once again into the barrio of Manrique. In the 1990's this community began as makeshift houses that were built on the steep hillside. Considered an ''invasion'' community by the city, there was no water, electricity or sanitation services for the original citizens. Through the efforts of community leaders, conditions for this neighborhood have begun to improve.

Bus service now connects them to jobs further down the hillside in the city. A reservoir in the center of town provides important water and hydroelectric power. And most recently, a project is underway to transform the neighborhood with colorful art.

Through a new program called Constellations, citizens of Manrique have begun giving tours of their newly revived barrio. Luz, one of our students, proudly showed us around her community one Saturday and shared stories of its past struggles and recent transformation. While our tour was in Spanish, I have no doubt that Luz will be telling her stories in English in the near future. In the meantime, I appreciated the fact that she spoke slowly and clearly so that I could understand... most of it.

Luz and her brother outside their childhood home.

Our tour started out with a Colombian coastal lunch of fish, coconut rice, and patacons lovingly prepared by Melida and family.

The fish may not have been smiling, but our enthusiastic patacón maker was!

Afterwards, we walked through the narrow streets as Luz told us stories of the barrio that are reflected in the street art.

Stories of how Melida and many like her left the Caribbean coast in hopes of finding a better life for her family in Medellin.

Stories of the simple joys of the children of Manrique.

Stories of  hope for rebirth, transformation, and a better future for the citizens of this historically underserved barrio.

Primed Community's classes are an important way to help promote tourism in this revitalized neighborhood, and these classes would not be possible without the hard work and dedication of Cata, Primed's director, and Tom, the program's talented and passionate academic coordinator.

There is no hiding Tom's passion for teaching!

Originally from Great Britain, Tom now calls Medellin home and has devoted countless volunteer hours to start another two year program in the neighborhood of Manrique. Every Saturday he leads the three hour class with 40-50 students in the Manrique Community Center. But that is only the tip of the iceberg. This amazing teacher has developed the program's curriculum, written the weekly learning platforms, organized the weekly online review sessions, and recruited numerous volunteers to assist with the classes.

As volunteer teachers, we get to do the ''fun stuff'' in class. Tom sends us the detailed lesson plan a few days beforehand, and we show up ready to assist, encourage, and just have fun. When learning a new language, it is important that students have an opportunity for individual practice... and that's where we come in. Through small group practice, students gain confidence in speaking.

Fun and games are also an important element of each class. 

And there's always plenty of friendly competition to bring out the inner child in all of us!

There are so many reasons to love Medellín, but it's...

the dedication of lead teacher Tom,

the enthusiasm of the many volunteer assistant teachers,

the determination of the students,

the shared smiles,

the laughter and friendships that cross language barriers,

the fun of learning,

and the desire to build a better world ... one barrio at a time

that has become one of the ''Prime'' reasons we love spending time in Medellin, Colombia.

 

PS...

Primed Community is always looking for more volunteers! If you will be visiting Medellin for an extended period of time and want to have more fun than you ever thought possible, visit their website to learn more.

PSS...

There are online volunteer teaching opportunities also. Experience some of the kindness and beauty of Medellin without leaving home. Contact Primed Community for more information.

Print this post