Presentation Yenny: social leader in La Divisa

(Interview was in Spanish, I (Alex) translated it to English)

Hola Yenny? Qué más?  Bien o qué? Podrías presentarte porfa? (can you present yourself)

Hi my name is Yenny Martinéz, I was born and grew up in Comuna Trece. I am 42 years now and have spent 17 years working in the foundation. I created the foundation out of desperation, to give the children of Comuna Trece a choice and an ability to see that life can look differently than what we are accustomed to see on the streets. Also because of my past, I want to create a different life for the  young boys and girls, so they wouldn't feel or live what I experienced. 

What’s the main goal of the foundation?

The main goal of the foundation is keeping children off the street, away from drugs, prostitution and criminal activities.  How are we doing that? We organize lots of activities for them: football classes, dancing classes, English classes and pretty soon Art classes as well. Lots of these children have a difficult socio-economic background. Some of them don’t have parents anymore, or live together with a single parent or their grandparents. El “Salon” (the youth house) and la cancha (the football pitch) is a gathering place and safe heaven for them, a place where they can have fun, where they can play, a place where they can learn, a place where they can come if they have any problem. 

The best moment so far in the history of the foundation? 

There are two actually. First of all to see that after working hard to see the football pitch and the soccer school to become a reality. The place where the pitch is now used to be a garbage dumb and you can imagine that cleaning it up and transforming it to a soccer field took a lot of effort. Secondly the new classroom and the English classes. With the help of so many people we were able to construct a beautiful classroom with all the necessities/utilities to organize interactive English classes of high quality. 

To end the interview on a less serious topic, can you tell me what’s your favourite food?

As a good paisa (inhabitant of Antioquia, region of Medellín) I love the Bandeja Paisa. Bandeja paisa contains Colombian sausage, ground beef, rice, red beans, chicharrón, an arepa, a plantain, a slice of avocado (you know, and a fried egg to top it all off. After eating the Bandeja Paisa, you’ll be able to survive the full day without eating anymore. Hahahha