“Through volunteering, I saw the other Colombia”: Valentina Gil

His approach to this type of work, which is essentially a dialogue of knowledge and the generation of actions to satisfy the needs of communities, with the purpose of contributing to collective well-being, occurred in the midst of the pandemic, thanks to UCundinamarca, which promotes it within the institution.

“When the pandemic started, I was part of the research groups. At that time I found out about the volunteer work and I got involved. At first, for obvious reasons it was virtual. At that time, we worked with a group of students from Mexico on the issue of decontaminating the Botello River, near Facatativá.”.

Through meetings on Teams and other platforms, they structured a project aimed at decontaminating the tributary. “We developed a comprehensive environmental restoration plan that included reforesting the recharge zones along the riverbank, removing solid waste, and taking water samples.”.

Later, the young Mexicans arrived in Bogotá with the goal of implementing the project. “With them, we were able to improve this body of water while also working on providing care for children and the elderly at different locations, such as those in Fusagasugá and Girardot.”.

There, this young woman fell in love with the spirit of volunteering, so much so that it transformed her outlook on life. The DANE figures that spoke of monetary poverty of 391,000 pesos in the municipal capitals and 441,000 pesos in rural areas finally had a face, and were no longer just cold numbers she heard while watching the news on her television, from the comfort of her home. “My view of life changed drastically because you start to worry about the people in need around you.”.

Then you start to look at how your career can help provide a better quality of life. In this program, I realized that there were elderly people who were never visited in nursing homes, or children who told me they only ate once a day. You become more sensitive and you say, 'I have to get more involved in volunteering,'" she repeats emphatically.

And so she has, so much so that she now works independently with the Twelve Tribes Foundation. “My degree lends itself well to helping others. That's why, from there, I worked on an urban gardening project for single mothers and senior citizens. It was in Soacha. It took me three hours to get there, since I first had to take a bus from Facatativá to Bogotá and then another to Soacha, but I didn't mind, because this community was very grateful. They would bring me cape gooseberries and lettuce from the course I taught them. They thanked me for training them. Many walked for hours just to attend, since that was a way to get the food they couldn't afford to buy.”.

Now all this selfless work will soon be rewarded. “I’m going to Ecuador to volunteer. UCundinamarca put out a call for applications, I applied, and I was selected. I’ll be working with the National University of Loja. I’ll be traveling with a classmate named Julieth, an environmental engineering student, and together we’ll be developing a project related to our field of study and the communities that live there.”.

This exercise, promoted by the university, unfolds within a framework of individual autonomy and solidarity, without economic motives, contributing to the multidimensional development of its participants as transhuman, active, and transformative beings. That's why Valentina plans, once she graduates, to continue helping those who need her knowledge to improve their living conditions. “My desire, through another foundation, is to continue volunteering, something whose philosophy one falls in love with, making it impossible to abandon it.”.

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