Eight Colombian philanthropists with eight extraordinary hearts.
Colombia is a country full of stories, as varied as its own geography. Tucked away among the jungles, rivers, cities, and towns, they peek out shyly, waiting to be heard. On this occasion, Caring for Colombia stepped into eight different universes that share a single purpose: to have a positive impact on the territories and the people of our country. From the first university for people with disabilities in Cali to a community kitchen in Altos de Cazucá, we came to know the stories of the people who made these projects possible.
CaringTalks: Corazones Extraordinarios is Caring for Colombia’s podcast, in which, across eight episodes, we sit down with eight Colombian philanthropists whose organizations we have accompanied through fiscal sponsorship. This is a space for sharing the stories of the people, organizations, and companies creating social impact in Colombia and in the world. We believe some stories deserve to be heard because behind every project we support, there is a life story interwoven with hundreds of others.
The podcast sets out to connect people with the work of social organizations and, in doing so, to strengthen the culture of philanthropy in our country. With Claudia Palacios as host and the School of Audio Engineering (SAE) as partner, we launched the first season. Here is a small glimpse of the stories.
The stories
Luz Amalia Botero — Fundación de Atención a la Niñez (FAN), Medellín. Born in the 1960s in a city where violence had become a habit, FAN works with children and adolescents living in poverty. Luz Amalia opens one of the most difficult conversations of the season: child sexual abuse, and the role the family plays in it.
Inés Elvira Navas — Fundación Fiambre, Altos de Cazucá. For more than twenty years, Fiambre has fought against malnutrition among the children of the La Capilla neighborhood with nutrition plans and complete meals. Her episode is a succession of anecdotes about what good food does to a child’s physical and emotional development — and about the machinery required to keep the plates coming.
Andrés Wiesner — Fundación Tiempo de Juego, Cazucá, Soacha. Since 2006, Andrés has transformed the lives of more than 11,000 children and young people with the most underestimated tool there is: play.
Álvaro Restrepo — El Colegio del Cuerpo, Cartagena. For 24 years, Álvaro has taught more than 9,000 young people from low-income backgrounds that they do not merely have a body: they are a body, one capable of respecting and of building peace.
Jeison Aristizábal — ASODISVALLE, Cali. CNN Hero of the Year in 2016, Jeison accompanies more than 800 people living with cognitive disabilities in Valle del Cauca. His episode answers a question worth asking out loud: how do you get from small dreams to enormous ones?
Ana María Hermida — Proyecto Belén de los Andaquíes. A filmmaker caught in the middle of an exchange of gunfire between guerrillas, deep in the Colombian jungle, while filming the story of a young woman who had been abused. Ana María walks us through what she has witnessed and through how, from New York, she ended up supporting Caring for Colombia’s projects.
Juan Rodrigo Mejía — Mahavir Kmina. Seven percent of Colombia’s population lives with a disability. For fifteen years, Juan Rodrigo led Mahavir Kmina, a leader in the creation of lower-limb prosthetics. His episode turns on an impossible case — a beneficiary who could not receive a prosthesis — and on what he did about it.
Catalina Escobar — Fundación JuanFe, Cartagena. Twenty years ago, Catalina set out to confront the highest infant mortality rate in Colombia and the third highest in Latin America. In the Walled City, she brought it down by 80%.
Listen
These episodes were recorded with the purpose of capturing years of work and dedication so that they endure over time. Their impact is still alive. We invite you to get to know each of these worlds, beginning with the one you can’t stop imagining.