This week I learnt a lot about what motivates individuals and communities to take action. 

During this week, we went to a community centre where we ran an activity for the children. Working with the children was wonderful and definitely taught me the importance of being adaptable, focussing on the main aims of something without getting caught up with certain things not going to plan. This experience also shaped my view of sustainability, as through workshops on sewing and dancing, we saw how these skills opened sustainable opportunities for individuals and transformed a community. 

This week also taught me the importance of sharing and sometimes being vulnerable in being open to learning more about others. This sharing was tangibly done during our leadership camp in Guatapé. Despite a tumultuous session of kayaking and an exhausting bike ride, the couple of days in Guatapé was a relaxing retreat away from the business of Medellín. One leadership exercise that stuck with me was when we explored our personal identities by representing what was most important to us in silhouettes. We then walked around and saw what we had each put. This felt like a very exposing task at the time, being honest about the core of what motivates us. I was incredibly interested in how identity was conceptualised so differently between us, through words and pictures, although there were lots of similarities in what drove each of us.

Thus, at the end of week 2, I had a very real sense of belonging, both within the community we found ourselves in and also among each of us, as we realised that we were motivated by similar purposes. Thus, I think we're spurred on to work alongside one another and the community, pursuing our individual dreams but with similar causes of helping others.