Talking was the first step taken by young people, businessmen, representatives of social foundations and citizens. During many previous meetings before reaching a consensus, everyone expressed themselves and assumed responsibilities. Then came the points in common that led them to ‘put on the shirt’ through Compromiso Valle, an initiative that emerged seven months ago with the purpose of contributing to the generation of opportunities for those who need them most and were protagonists of the social outbreak.
‘All it takes to transform a life is one good opportunity.’ With this premise, the organizations and people linked to the initiative came together to work for a city and a department with better opportunities. There are already more than 90 companies and a hundred citizens thanks to whom resources for more than $50,000 million have been managed to offer the passport to a better life to more than 20,000 people, especially young people, who demand this help.
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Valley Commitment arisesexplains María Isabel Ulloa, executive director of ProPacífico, after the blockades suffered in Cali, Valle del Cauca and various regions of Colombia between the months of April and June 2021. “Businessmen of all sizes decide to go to the streets to speak, listen and try to understand what was happening, through active listening, which is dynamic because we still continue to go to the territories to get closer and bring solutions to the problems”, he adds.
After several sessions with leaders and young people in neighborhoods and municipalities, a route was drawn up with six work fronts: food security, transformation of life projects, employability, leadership, entrepreneurship and education, to contribute to closing social gaps and impacting more than 30,000 people in seven municipalities: Cali, Yumbo, Buenaventura, Palmira, Candelaria.
“The business sector in the Valley has been receptive. We already have more than 90 linked companies, more than a hundred citizens contributing and many institutions such as Comfandi, the Chamber of Commerce and business foundations such as Fanalca, Carvajal and Sidoc, as well as social organizations that are part of the project”, explains María Isabel Ulloa.
The goal is that people who enter the program have a positive transformation in their lives.
Immediate results
Food safety is one of the priority lines for Compromiso Valle. In the hundred kitchens set up in Cali, Palmira and Yumbo, more than 9,500 people have food. María Eugenia or ‘the aunt’ as they know her, manager of a dining room located in the sector known as Apocalipso, eastern Cali, Calipso neighborhood, protagonist of the April 2021 outbreak. “The dining room started when we wanted to support the young people who defended the rights of all, and when the blockades were lifted we realized that they and their families still needed our help. Many had not eaten so well before the existence of the dining room”, explains María Eugenia.
Another work front with results is that of ‘transformation of life projects’, through initiatives such as ‘forging opportunities’ and ‘opening paths’. Juan Camilo Cock, executive director of the Alvaralice Foundation, explains that the purpose of joining Compromiso Valle is to contribute to processes to reduce violence, generate opportunities for young people and strengthen community initiatives.
“With the Opening Paths project, we work with 40 neighborhoods in Cali and 10 neighborhoods in Palmira, Jamundí and Buenaventura to strengthen the community’s capacities to interrupt and mediate conflicts so that they do not turn violent; and to provide support to young people who are at high risk of becoming involved in violence so that they can access social programs that transform their lives”, says Juan Camilo Cock.
Rumbo Joven is another project to which the Alvaralic Foundation has joined, to provide training in skills for employment to young people and high school graduates from neighborhoods with high levels of exclusion. Among them, Potrero Grande and Siloé, on the hillside of Cali. Although Compromiso Valle is a project planned for 18 months, people who enter the program are expected to have a positive transformation in their lives or successfully carry out their enterprise and achieve self-sustainability.
From the business sector, multiple spaces for dialogue and active listening were generated with young people, in which they were able to expose their realities
The Sidoc Foundation is also part of ‘Transformation of life projects’ through the ‘Forjar Oportunidades’ initiative, to contribute to the reduction of youth violence.
“From the social outbreak an opportunity arose to continue contributing to the social transformation of the territories. From the business sector, multiple spaces for dialogue and active listening were generated with young people, in which they were able to expose their realities and that in the framework of the current situation we could not afford to ignore”, emphasizes Christine Armitage Tello, executive director of the Sidoc Foundation.
The project ‘Forjar opportunities’ is one of the methodologies for intervention in violence that the Sidoc Foundation has. He has put himself at the service of Compromiso Valle, with the hope of opening spaces of opportunity. “We hope to positively impact five thousand young people directly in Cali, Buenaventura, Buga, Candelaria, Jamundí, Palmira and Yumbo. We also know that, by transforming their life projects based on opportunities for training and income generation, guidance for the exercise of democratic and participatory citizenship, and the generation of trust with the community, we end up indirectly impacting approximately fifteen thousand people”, adds the executive director of Fundación Sidoc.
The project ‘Forge opportunities’ It is one of the violence intervention methodologies that the Sidoc Foundation has. He has put himself at the service of Compromiso Valle, with the hope of opening spaces of opportunity. “We hope to positively impact five thousand young people directly in Cali, Buenaventura, Buga, Candelaria, Jamundí, Palmira and Yumbo. We also know that, by transforming their life projects based on opportunities for training and income generation, guidance for the exercise of democratic and participatory citizenship, and the generation of trust with the community, we end up indirectly impacting approximately fifteen thousand people”, adds the executive director of Fundación Sidoc.
the task continues
To date, 5,239 people, especially young people, have participated in conflict resolution and vocational guidance processes. Entrepreneurship and education are two of the lines of action that Compromiso Valle hopes to start in the medium and long term in the seven municipalities on which it focuses its work: Cali, Buga, Candelaria, Yumbo, Jamundí, Palmira and Buenaventura.
An initiative that generates enormous expectations in young people, who after completing their high school have no way to continue their training. More than 5,000 people have applied to be beneficiaries of the projects led by Andi Valle, Cali Chamber of Commerce, Comfandi, ProPacífico, Vallecaucana Action Unit, Comfenalco Valle, Fundación Alvaralice, Fundación Carvajal, Fundación Fanalca, Fundación Sidoc, Fundación Smurfit Kappa, Fundación WWB Colombia, the Archdiocese of Cali, Pastoral Social Cali, Comfandi, Invest Pacific and the Valle alliance for and for all.
“Compromiso Valle is a way for all of us, working together, to access better opportunities. It has not only been a job of businessmen, but also of the community. I have seen good results when both sides do their part. It is an act of trust in the other and of doing things well”, says Jhonier Cuero, known as ´misterio’, a young barista from América de Cali and a member of the Fundación A District in Peace.
Especially young people, they have participated in conflict resolution processes and vocational guidance
Other voices and initiatives
Transformation of Life Projects is one of the projects that seeks to impact people at high risk of vulnerability. The Sidoc and Alvaralice foundations are running the ‘Forjar Opportunities’ and ‘Opening Paths’ programs for them, which are committed to urban peace, social prevention of violence, reconciliation and economic and social inclusion. . To date, 5,239 people have benefited, especially young people.
The purpose of this year is to have young people trained for employment and entrepreneurship and sensitized in conflict resolution. One of the protagonists of this axis is Fonky You, a rapper who, through his music, raises awareness in the community and finds ways other than violence. He says it in the lyrics of a rap that he composed for the initiative: “with my art I promote peace”. “Take advantage of the opportunities to highlight your qualities and skills and, if you know something, don’t doubt your abilities,” sings the talented young man.
Added to his voice is that of Jeferson Durán, from the Potrero Grande neighborhood, in Comuna 21, from the Activarte project with this rap of gratitude: “To Compromiso Valle and Propacifico, to all its people, I want to thank you for feeding minds with projects, making the culture project. That way the district will have an east, when the head is filled more than the belly, with education a bridge is created, changing the lives of young people suddenlyI thank you for promoting art, culture is important, life can save you, it is indispensable like air, it must be found everywhere, so thank you, today I thank you, because for me what is worth is education because education does not have a price, but it does have value, a blessing”.
In the Employability project, 317 people have received training and more than 90 are already employed in trades such as: mechanics and motorcycle repair, dressmaking, cashiers and general services and call center agents in BPO companies. In this 2022, the initiative hopes to achieve a business pact for inclusive employability, serve as a bridge between employers and job seekers through job fairs.
The purpose is to have young people trained for employment and entrepreneurship.
Yelise Torres is a 23-year-old girl who is part of the Employability program, Rumbo Joven de Alvaralice. “The program has left me motivated and eager to work. My dream is to become a successful businesswoman, with a foundation that leads projects for young people with limited resources. When you work on yourself you will know what to offer the world, what you are made of, what you have learned and all your experiences will always be worth it in the right place”.
Another axis is the Entrepreneurship program, which took off with a business strengthening process during a meeting of entrepreneurs. To date, nearly 3,400 entrepreneurs receive support in setting up their businesses. In addition, 23 of them participated in entrepreneurship fairs in December, during which sales of more than $30 million pesos were achieved.
Work is also being done on the Solid Leadership program, in which more than 1,400 leaders receive training in territorial leadership, citizen participation and empowerment. The idea is to continue with training programs for community leaders and support and finance initiatives participating in the Cali and Yumbo Civic Award. Aydis Magaly Ángulo, a member of the Oriente Stereo radio station, a channel through which the community shares its processes and experiences, participates in the special edition of the Civic Award along with 35 other social initiatives that, in addition to competing for an economic benefit, receive strengthening in the administrative areas.
THE COUNTRY
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