SANTA LUCIA, 19 FEB--Freddy Villa, an unemployed professor who was impacted by the floods in the south, feels that in the midst of the solitude and poverty left in the wake of the flood waters of the Magdalena river, life has given him an opportunity about which he's always dreamed: to be a teacher in his native Santa Lucía.
The natural sciences professor from the University of Pamplona is leading a program in which 130 children of families hurt by the floods receive classes under trees which withstood the winter onslaught.
"It gives me great pleasure to be able to help my people out here," says the teacher, who along with two preschool assistants and a recent graduate, all victims of the winter floods, have now been teaching classes for three weeks, Monday through Friday, from 7:30 to 11:00 am.
The initiative has the backing of a group of businesses in downtown Barranquilla which send school supplies, blackboards, and a salary of 50 thousand pesos a week [$25; fun fact: that's about how much i make a week] to Freddy and his three companions.
"We're not doing it for the money, but for the sake of these children, so that they can enjoy some distraction from their situation, and won't have fallen too far behind when it comes time for them to return to school," says Salcedo Olga Tapia, one of the teachers.
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| Severe floods in St. Lucía drove the entire town to flee. |
In St. Lucía, which flooded on November 30th last year after the Canal del Dique broke, only four neighborhoods in the area remain underwater, and a hundred families have already returned.
The Government sent a commission to review the structural conditions of the three local schools and, apparently, two will need to be demolished.
"So for now, we try to accommodate everyone under the trees. And the children spend their mornings here, waiting for things to improve," says Professor Freddy, his voice full of hope. (LEONARDO HERRERA DELGHAMS, El Tiempo) 
speaking of schools under trees, they are discussed in a book i just bought for my class, dora's international school day adventure, which was actually written by shakira (yet another reason why she is awesome), to raise money for her ngo focused on education for vulnerable and war-affected children, fundación pies descalzos. in the story, dora travels to schools around the world, including ethiopia, where school is held under a big tree. when i first saw it, i thought... oh no, this could be highly problematic. the narrative of "pobrecitos, poor little african children, they haven't even got buildings to study in, let's all go save african babies.
but thankfully, it wasn't. not at all. go shakira and dora for not being ethnocentric! dora's little ethiopian buddy explains that they're having class under trees while a new school building is being constructed. and boots, dora's little anthropomorphic pet monkey, says "cool! schools in trees!" and that is that. it was like that in uganda. yeah, some of the schools were under trees. and obviously that's not ideal, as when it rains they have to cancel school. and it's trickier to write without desks of some sort. but... you do what you gotta do. it's much better than not going to school--that's the major problem in uganda. and honestly a lot of the classrooms are so run-down, hot, and overcrowded it'd actually be a lot more comfortable to have class outside. i remember in one school where i did interviews, the teacher explained that the community was coming together to build a series of huts to form the primary school. everyone was pitching in, with materials or labor or what have you. but in the meantime, they were having class under trees. and he was kinda like, c'est la vie, that's just how it is and we deal. and really the whole project--with its community involvement and ownership, grassroots development, sustainability, adaptation to local conditions, etc. was pretty awesome. pretty ideal. i thesised about how awesome it would be if there were more such projects.
but back to the colombian floods. the community response to the recent floods and displacements in colombia has been surprisingly great. i was at éxito (colombian equivalent of target), and they had a big sign in front calling for donations of school supplies for displaced children. for 20 thousand pesos ($10) you could buy a school kit and donate it to one of the kids. the fact that éxito even has this program, when a lot of their customers live off of their $10 weekly staple food boxes that rather resemble food aid crates, is pretty inspiring.
i think it's interesting that there's been such an outpouring of community aid for flood victims, when other displaced people, those displaced by the war, are met with resentment and contempt in many places. i guess it's easy to feel bad for victims of a natural disaster. it's random, it's black and white, it's easy aid. aid to war victims is trickier, there might be sentiments of jealousy and unworthiness. especially when it's a long-term issue and migrants from the war are trying to integrate into urban society. but on the bright side, i must say, this project in santa lucía represents education in emergencies at its finest. grassroots, community supported, and motivated by selfless people with a passion for children's rights and welfare. it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
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