Nori had an important experience on the countryside in two small rural villages 2 weeks ago. It was a great opportunity for her, the students and for the foundation to work in a rural area. She went to a remote area in the middle of the mountains, which means they are statistically more exposed to teen pregnancies and sexual health education is generally weaker in these areas.
Nori tells about her experience
This week, I had the opportunity to work in two rural areas in the state of Cauca, which is the state where Popayán is the capital. The first days, I worked in Rosas which is located one hour from Popayán. The last day, I worked in La Sierra which is even further away, 2 hours from Popayán.
I had the opportunity to go to these areas thanks to the geologist Lina Marcela Paz, my former co-student from Universidad del Cauca. She helped me contact the schools in the two rural villages and made it possible for us to work there.
The schools are located away from the village in the mountains. The students have to travel up to one hour to reach the schools. This means that it also makes it difficult for other organizations to reach this kind of schools. The sexual and reproductive health educations that the students receive in these areas is given by their teachers who generally are not qualified to teach this subject.
During the workshops the students were very serious and reserved, but they were very collaborative and active in the group exercise. Several students came to ask me more private questions one on one after the workshop.
To have the opportunity to leave the city and travel for hours through the mountains was very gratifying. But the most amazing thing was to see how grateful and helpful both students and teachers were. I really understand how important the foundation’s work is and the necessity to bring the project to more areas outside of the cities.