We have started our third week of English Summer Camp! Our students are very excited about the new English lessons and the new practical skills they are learning every day.

Figure 1: Students attending a session of the English Summer Camp

This week the students have been learning vocabulary about family members and describing each member’s role in the family. We had different groups of students, and they had the opportunity to create different families with the main characteristics they wanted. In this sense, each student chose a role in that family and described which member of the family they were, the different duties in their role, their profession, and their daily routine.

Figure 2: Students attending a session of the English Summer Camp

It was an interesting way to learn more about families and the dynamics involved in their daily interactions. They use indoor and outdoor sessions to fully understand English as a new language and to get used to expressing their ideas in front of an audience. We are very proud that most of them have learned so quickly and are comfortable speaking in a second language.

Figure 3: Ximena Valenzuela with a group of students in the English Summer Camp

Most of our summer camp students come from low-income areas and the opportunities provided by our program are a once-in-a-lifetime experience that they will surely never forget.

One of our English teachers in the program is Daysury Granja Sadoval. She has been involved in teaching English as a second language to young people in Cali and has participated in programs similar to the English Summer Camp, including one in the United States. A former colleague of the Foundation where I used to work recognized Daysury on our social media and talked to me about her excellent work. My colleague told me that she knew Daysury through a project that focused on educational support for children in needy areas and Daysury was a participant of it. It made me so happy to hear about Daysury’s background and how destiny unifies those with the same life purposes.

Figure 4: Daysury Granja Sandoval, teacher of the English Summer Camp at her college graduation

I am absolutely convinced that we can democratize education and give our students the fantastic opportunities they need to support their amazing development.  We are working extremely hard to give them more than just a new skill—we’re also instilling a new mindset that will empower them to flourish in life and recognize the incredible opportunities that await them when they’re fully prepared. We really hope this Summer Camp will mark them for life! We also hope it will help them look for more opportunities and to leverage the resources they have to create a positive impact in their communities.