With the beginning of the school year, the various educational programs of the Community of Saint Paul in Casa Garavito Community Development Center in Bogotá (Colombia) have begun
In Colombia, the school calendar runs from February to November, so that students' longer vacations, which in other countries are in July and August, take place in December and January. With the start of the academic year in the schools and universities throughout the country, we have also started the various educational programs that operate in the Casa Garavito Community Development Center, which the Community of Saint Paul runs in the El Pesebre neighborhood in Bogota.
This year we have launched two groups of new students for the Sewing classes. Adding the people who have registered to start from scratch to those who will continue their training from last year, there are now 50 people (mostly women, although also some men accompany them) in these courses.
Another program that also started the first Saturday of February was the education for the group of elderly who have been receiving academic formation since 2017. We are very happy to report that this year several new students have joined this group. Today around twenty older adults meet, pen and paper in hand, every Saturday at “Casa Garavito” for their classes.
The guitar lessons for children and young people have started as well. Additionally, we are now enrolling children and teenagers to take Basic English classes, a new initiative which will begin in April. This will undoubtedly be a good complement to the rest of the programs, and many people have already shown interest in it.
From “Casa Garavito” (where other pastoral programs take place, such as a weekly Bible workshop and a youth group) we continue to coordinate our university scholarship program. In 2019 we will be assisting 22 students from the neighborhood so that they may continue their university studies.
Finally, a new initiative of the Community of Saint Paul in Bogota for this 2019 is that we have started a collaboration with a local foundation (“Solidarity, Strength of the Little Ones”) that for some years has served people with mental disabilities. Thanks to the CSP’s involvement, the men and women cared for the foundation have now activities organized for them three days a week (before, they were only gathering once a week).
This year we have launched two groups of new students for the Sewing classes. Adding the people who have registered to start from scratch to those who will continue their training from last year, there are now 50 people (mostly women, although also some men accompany them) in these courses.
Another program that also started the first Saturday of February was the education for the group of elderly who have been receiving academic formation since 2017. We are very happy to report that this year several new students have joined this group. Today around twenty older adults meet, pen and paper in hand, every Saturday at “Casa Garavito” for their classes.
The guitar lessons for children and young people have started as well. Additionally, we are now enrolling children and teenagers to take Basic English classes, a new initiative which will begin in April. This will undoubtedly be a good complement to the rest of the programs, and many people have already shown interest in it.
From “Casa Garavito” (where other pastoral programs take place, such as a weekly Bible workshop and a youth group) we continue to coordinate our university scholarship program. In 2019 we will be assisting 22 students from the neighborhood so that they may continue their university studies.
Finally, a new initiative of the Community of Saint Paul in Bogota for this 2019 is that we have started a collaboration with a local foundation (“Solidarity, Strength of the Little Ones”) that for some years has served people with mental disabilities. Thanks to the CSP’s involvement, the men and women cared for the foundation have now activities organized for them three days a week (before, they were only gathering once a week).
