Overview of my project
Hello! I am writing to you in Medellín (locals tend to pronounce their city as meh-deh-jeen), Colombia right now! When people think of the city Medellín, they tend to think of the decades of violence driven by civil war and the drug trade. While that history is a vital part of Medellín's past and people, Medellín today is a beautiful, vibrant, and much safer city known for it's resilience, breathtaking landscapes, and warm and welcoming people. For my LiA project, I am partnering with Picacho Con Futuro, located in Comuna 6 (a Comuna is just an official administrative district), through the central Laidlaw organization make_sense Americas. I am working with three other Laidlaw Scholars (shout out to Pippa Lewin at Durham University, James McLean at University of Leeds, and Mathilde Vega at Tufts University), to develop a plan for "Barrio Mío," Picacho con Futuro's cultural café, as a space for community and cultural integration and economic sustainability for Picacho con Futuro. This café will take place in a previously used Picacho Con Futuro restaurant space. Essentially, this project places an emphasis on the following UN SDGs:
- #11 Sustainable Cities and Communities
- #10 Reduced Inequalities
Planned Deliverables
As per the project description discussed by makesense and Picacho Con Futuro, there are four main deliverables for my LiA:
- Concept of the Café: Establishing the narrative and value of Barrio Mío through visiting other different cultural café's throughout Medellín, such as in Casa Loma in San Javier of Comuna 13 and/or La Pascasia of downtown Medellín.
- Mapping the Stakeholders: Determining how the organizations that already partner with Picacho Con Futuro, such as Contracorriente, Panorámica, etc., contribute to Picacho's mission, their unique roles, and how they would benefit from Barrio Mío.
- Roadmapping our Plan: A proposal for the logistics of the café, that aligns with the narrative, mission and goal of Picacho on Futuro. This includes the food/drinks served, materials used, layout of the space, use of the space for events other than a café like workshops or bazaars, various activities offered in the café, etc..
- Individual Testimony: Providing Picacho Con Futuro a short video testimony of experience collaborating with Picacho con Futuro.
What did I learn?
I learned about the history of Medellin, particularly in Comuna 6 and 13, through those who experienced the violence with their own eyes. But even more so, I learned about how the government was able to turn the violent and poverty stricken Medellín into a much safer and wealthier city. Most of these initiatives were aimed at increasing connectivity and accessibility for the poor, such as building public transport (bus, metro and even cable), escalators in the neighborhoods of Comuna 13, and public libraries, schools, etc.. Medellín's transformation wouldn't have been possible without the effort of thousands of locals and local initiatives, and the change in Medellín is a huge source of pride for the residents of Medellín.
That being said, I learned that there are still many issues that residents of Medellín face; this is where social organizations come in. For example, single mothers have a hard time finding time to work and earn money while also providing the level of care and support to their children that they wish they could. For that reason, Fundación Sora in Comuna 13, another organization that partners with makesense, created a community kitchen, one of the many initiatives Sora created to foster safe spaces for children, mothers, and the elderly. Meanwhile, Picacho Con Futuro in Comuna 6 created a Community Mothers Association that takes care of children while mothers go to work, along with other initiatives such as Women with a Future, where women learn trades and art to escape from household chores and the grind, and many more.
What went well?
One of the best parts of Medellín that I have learned is how warm and welcoming the community is. Locals on the metro or the street don't hesitate to help when I or my friends were confused, often without us even asking, speaking in slow Spanish, using the English they knew, or pulling out google translate to help. People here really love their city and it's clearly shown through the incredibly clean public transport, support for the World Cup, love for their food and pride for the social change in the past thirty years.
Within Picacho Con Futuro, we got to meet local children who were taken care by the Community Mothers Association, women sewing as part of Women with a Future, and the women who formed the kitchen staff. The kids were extremely polite and understanding of the language barrier, welcoming us immediately and showing us around their playground, sharing their snacks and even giving us their drawings as gifts. The women sewing were a bit busier and didn't have as much time for us, but still introduced themselves (many tried in english!) and gave us a warm welcome. Lastly, we got to spend a whole day with the kitchen staff to help them prepare for the bazaar that was in two days. We washed and wiped over 600 banana leaves and cut 300 strings, making us feel useful haha. Throughout it all, the staff were extremely kind, giving us drinks to try, ordering lunch for us, and celebrated with us when we finally finished.
What could've been done differently?
Well, sadly I think I have the same "regret" as most other scholars traveling abroad and that is wishing that I could speak the language better. I took three years of Spanish between middle and high school, which I am so glad I did, and I still remember some basic Spanish. However, I did not retain nearly enough to hold a fluent conversation. I am actively working on it, relearning a lot of the conjugations and vocabulary that I had forgot, and am learning a lot of new phrases every day, actively putting together sentences on a daily basis, more than I ever did in school. But still, I wish I could communicate better.
On a different topic, I also wish I had been keeping track of my expenses from day 1. Basically, the local debit card that makesense gives us didn't work for me, and so, while I am waiting for a new card, I am reimbursed for whatever I spend with my own money. But between the pauses of being reimbursed, using a international credit card or taking out money with fees, lending money to friends and splitting ubers, it's gotten really tough to keep track of how much money I've spent, especially since I can't just check my debit card balance. So definitely, keeping track of money is important!
What did I learn about Leadership?
As I reflect on this past week, I feel like I haven't done anything groundbreaking, particularly since we haven't even started our core project yet of the café. So, answering this question was very difficult. How could I have learned anything about leadership if I haven't done anything that involved needing to lead a group of people? But I think the answer to that question lies not in what I haven't done, but what I have been doing everyday.
In this past week, I explored different parts of Medellín, from Poblado and Laureles, the rich parts of Medellín, to the hills, farms and playgrounds of Comuna 6, and the usually unseen neighborhoods behind the touristic areas of Comuna 13. I ate arepas, chicharrón, chorizo, plantains and drank Aguapanela con Limón, famous Colombian dishes. I rode on Medellín's public buses, trains and cable, and tried my best speaking as much Spanish as I could to locals. I definitely still have a lot more places to explore, so much more tasty food to try, more people to meet, and much more to learn, but I feel that the process of trying to engross oneself in another's culture is just as important to leadership as the stereotypical tangible results of being a leader.
I don't remember who said it to me exactly, but I always remember the phrase: "you are a guest in someone else's home". It reminds me that before I can hope to contribute to Medellín and create something meaningful, I must first listen, observe and learn. After all, if the café is meant to serve the community of Medellín, then understanding the place, culture and people it will exist within is crucial to later taking charge and creating change.
Therefore, my answer to what I've learned about leadership is that leadership isn't always flashy and shouldn't always have immediate gratification. Being a good leader is also having the ability to understand the context that it is requested within.
What do I want to adjust and develop for next week?
Next week, we will begin the visualizing stage of our project.
- We learned that Picacho Con Futuro had a community restaurant in the past, but had to get rid of it. Now, they want to build their cultural café where their community restaurant used to be. I hope to learn more about why they had to get rid of their old restaurant and what they're looking for that is different in this new café.
- To better understand what a cultural café means in Medellín, we will visit hopefully four different cultural café's in different parts of Medellín that will help us in the project ideation phase.
As for personal goals, I hope to learn more Spanish, explore more restaurants, explore UPB, the local university we will have access to starting next week, and watch more World Cup games haha.