Dreaming Awake in Colombia (Soñar Despierto)

By Pamela Gomez on 09/15/2010 @ 12:01 PM

Truth: Millions of Children around the world lack education and love.

There are many places in the world that people are hardly aware of. Yet, my country Colombia, has made itself worthy of the world’s attention. I have to admit, it hasn’t always been in a positive light, but then again all of these issues took place long before I was born. Today, my country has become known for many cultural and tourist reasons. Although this brings me joy, there are other aspects such as my people that make me even happier.

I will explain how I volunteered first hand to make a difference and why I am doing now to help impact the lives of the Colombian children. I had the opportunity to go to a school in which community service was a requirement. Throughout my years of high school I dug deep into the issues that surrounded my community and adopted a different way of looking at life. Through a program called “Sonar Despierto” or “Dreaming Awake” I learned not only to value and respect human life, but to enhance it. I learned to give myself to a cause and put my needs aside in order to give back and make others happy

This program basically dealt with poor children from around the city where I lived, Medellin. As volunteers the point wasn’t to acknowledge that the children lacked material goods; it was to recognize that life goes beyond that, and a smile, hopes and dreams and friends come for free and may take you further. We worked with these children throughout several years of high school and participated in a division of Sonar Despierto called, “Friends Forever.” Our mission was to plan activities around the city that were didactic, curricular and significant. We would go to monuments, zoos, parks, you name it. I had the opportunity to share wonderful times with children whose academic and economical future was uncertain, yet their hopefulness, gratefulness and smiles gave me certainty that they would come a long way.

When I was faced with planning one afternoon with those children, and making it the best of their lives in order to help them forget their troubles, I couldn't help but thinking: why do some of us have it so easy in life? And if we do, why don't we appreciate our position and help these children construct paths that will help lead them to a better tomorrow? It is an idealistic view because as we know our world is full of challenges especially for the less fortunate and most of us are too caught up in our own issues even if they don’t resemble what a difficult situation really is. I think that my generation, and for that matter all generations, have a responsibility with these children. And if we want their future to be bright and the world to evolve on the principles of fairness, happiness, and respect, we owe to ourselves to engage in the process of making it happen.

I currently live in Washington D.C. so I can’t participate in the activities first-hand but I love this project too much to let it go. Therefore I have created a program to help fund it. I have with me the stories and desires of twenty children that live in an orphanage because their parents and relatives have been victims of violence. The goal is to get volunteers to finance the membership of each one of these children in the program “Friends Forever.” The idea is that as sponsors, you receive a monthly update on the child’s life that shows you how your aid and concern is benefiting them.

I consider Colombia’s youth and any child around the globe to be key for the future. I believe that by teaching, helping and caring for our children today we are helping them construct the foundations they need to make the world a better place in which to grow and live. Our youth will not only advance in scientific matters, but social matters. They will grow up and become adults that work towards making everyone's life worthwhile by ensuring each human being receives the respect, love and voice all people are naturally worthy of.

Dare: Are you willing to contribute to stop the effects and help others?

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