top of page
Writer's pictureLuz Angela G.
Jul 27, 20224 min read

Join the PMPS Journey for Change!

Updated: Jul 28, 2022


Join the #PMPSjourneyforchange! Help young change-makers in Colombia create community impact by:


1) Donating to support their social impact projects by clicking link in bio. No contribution is too small!


2) Sharing and spreading the word about this journey for change on your social media. Use #PMPSjourneyforchange



Who are these young change-makers? Meet Gabriela, Kevin, and Indaly - Peace Makers and Problem Solvers (PMPS) mentors at La Provincia School in Carepa, Antioquia in northwestern Colombia:

Gabriela Linares, 15 years old (left): She is a 10th grader student and has been involved in PMPS since 2021. Beginning in 2022, she became a mentor to guide her own group of students through the PMPS curriculum. Gabriela says that she enjoys PMPS because "it is a space to share and interact with (my) classmates and contribute to solving problems in (our) community."


Kevin Guerra, 28 years old (middle): He is a schoolteacher at La Provincia School. Kevin joined PMPS in 2021 as a mentor and guided a group of nine students to complete the PMPS program in 2021. He and his students successfully developed and implemented a 3-month long social-impact project that benefitted 74 community members. Their project included a Peace Soccer Tournament and other interactive activities to promote an equitable school environment.


Indaly David, 15 years old (right): She is in 10th grade and began as a student in PMPS in 2021. Now, she is a PMPS mentor helping other students to become young leaders who work collaboratively to create positive change in their community.


Gabriela, Kevin, and Indaly are committed young mentors acting as role models to other future PMPS youth leaders in their community. PMPS has created a space for them to expand their personal development and leadership. Empowering their self-confidence through the program has given them the opportunity to strengthen their sense of belonging in their communities and offered great ways for them to identify, understand, and address social issues in their local context.


PMPS mentors complete a 4-week mentoring training program to become curriculum facilitators and youth leaders. This training allows them to lead the PMPS students in weekly workshops, leadership development, team-building exercises, and community service activities.

Shannon Shaw, is a dedicated educator at Sheppard Pratt School, in Towson, Maryland, who embraces the opportunity for her students to participate in Peace Makers and Problem Solvers – PMPS.


Through her care and dedication for her students, she has provided an under-served group of young people with the opportunity to have a positive impact on their community and in their connections with students from different backgrounds and cultures. Shaw is equipping her students to have the skills for positive change.


Shaw has also been part of another educational program at The Marshall Legacy Institute, Peace Through Sport – PTS, an eight-week program focusing on the development of communication skills, respect for diversity, problem-solving skills, and U.S. values while virtually connecting youth in Lebanon and the United Stated through the lens of sport.


Shaw says: ¨PMPS has been a meaningful program for both the students and myself. The program helps to instill the value of teamwork, something that is so important for teens and young adults to learn. PMPS has given me the opportunity to work with students who I feel really benefit from the exposure to other cultures and the task of producing a project to help the community. This has given the kids a chance to see how other people in the world live. The projects make the kids, and me, feel like they are really making a difference in the community. This program for most of my students, is the first time they’re ever felt like they’ve made a difference or that their ideas are being heard. It is so nice to see their excitement coming up with ideas and the dedication they show while following through with them. I think that PMPS will leave a lasting impression on the students, and I hope that the program will continue to grow. Personally, I have enjoyed the exchange of culture between the students. It is amazing seeing how much can get done when working together with a shared goal. ¨


Meet two passionate Colombian teachers at Diocesano Laura Montoya school in Chigorodó. Antioquia. Carmen Parra (left) and Luisa Maldonado (right), both are part of a teaching program with Enseña por Colombia @ensenaporcolombia, a non-governmental organization that contributes to the construction of a more equitable country through education by calling to action young professionals to public school classrooms and positively influence the lives of their students and their communities.


Beginning 2022, Carmen and Luisa decided joined Peace Makers and Problem Solvers – PMPS as mentors to put in practice their leadership skills and help their students develop into empowered leaders. Working in collaboration with their students, they are contributing to effect positive and meaningful change in their communities and themselves.


In their classrooms, and working with empathy, transparency and appreciation of differences, Carmen and Luisa are making a great difference, inspiring lasting change, and promoting authentic young leaders whose actions are altering the vision and trajectory of their communities to one of peace and prosperity.

Mónica Romero (image 1) and Eledibey Salgado (image 2). They are guiding their own group of almost 20 students at El Cerro School in the rural region in Capera, Antioquia. Through weekly workshops, leadership development training, team building exercises, intercultural communication experiences, and community service activities, they are guiding their group help students better understand the role that they, as young people, can play in becoming agents of change, resolving conflict, and finding solutions to their community’s most significant needs.


Mónica is a dedicated 27-year-old teacher part of Enseña por Colombia @ensenaporcolombia teaching program. She is guiding her efforts to transform contexts, reduce the gap of educational inequity in the country, and making sure her students receive an education that allows them to develop their full potential.


Eledibey is a natural born leader. She is only 17 years old and has an innate capacity to effectively lead her group and inspire them, making sure together they follow a common goal to benefit their own community.



Comments

bottom of page