In Medellin, every day is Mother's Day

Manuela, a mother of two in Medellin, Colombia, is often concerned for the well-being and safety of her children.

“I love Medellin, but it can be a dangerous place.  Comuna 13 (one of 16 districts in Medellin facing various complex socio-economic challenges) has about 20 armed gangs with invisible borders throughout the neighbourhoods. There are documented cases of gangs forcibly recruiting youth. Since my children were born, my life’s goal has been to keep them safe and provide them with all the possibilities life has to offer.”

The people of Comuna 13 have fought back in response to the violence, creating many opportunities to improve the lives of those living there.  The YMCA of Medellin has been helping create many of those opportunities; among them, engaging parents in its work and informing them the YMCA is not only a safe and healthy place, but a place that supports peace in the community.

Thanks to a group of mothers in Comuna 13, the not-so-quiet revolution for peace has already begun. Crearte (“create yourself” in Spanish), a program created by and for the mothers of youth volunteers at the YMCA, sees the ever-growing group socialize, constructively discussing their roles as women and mothers in the community, creating sources of income for their families, and being an active voice within the decisions made at the YMCA.

Along with catching up on the day’s events and learning to make crafts (they learn a new craft every week, which they sell for income), they meet to share experiences and lend an ear to one another in times of trouble. They love each other and their crafts, but most of all, they love that those crafts, and the resulting positive environment they create, are their own.

“The aspect that makes the work of the YMCA of Medellin so effective in Comuna 13 is the emphasis they place on a holistic approach to working with youth, “ says Esperanza Monsalve, General Manager of International Programs at the YMCA of Greater Toronto. “It’s not just about the youth themselves, but about the environment they live in, and families are at the very centre of it. Their mothers support them in becoming transformative leaders in their own community, and in turn, the mothers become transformational agents and role models for future generations.”

Above all, the women of Crearte—including Manuela, who facilitates the group--are always sure that they continue to contribute to the work the YMCA does in their community in their own way. “Nothing good comes from taking things for granted.  We want to give back to the community-- that’s what makes us a part of it.”

Crearte is just one of many projects that the YMCA of Greater Toronto supports in its work in the global community through 8 partner associations in South America, Africa and Central America. To find out more about our work in the global community, click here.