Volunteers from CANPACK Colombia, based in Tocancipá northeast of Bogota, have been supporting a special project in their local community to help create a better future for their children.
Closing The Poverty Gap Through Child Development
In 2021 a special project called Fundación InmensaMente was set up by childcare experts in nearby Gachancipá. The Spanish name is a play on words expressing the immense capacity and power of the mind when properly nourished and nurtured from the start.
The goal is to address a general lack of understanding about child development in the country’s rural communities. This has resulted in an alarming lack of resources for the most critical years between 0 and five, which is when 85% of brain development takes place.
The project aims to close the poverty gap by making sure children have access the best nutrition and educational advantages during these crucial formative years so they can achieve their full potential.
A Kindergarten Built with Help From Local Businesses
In 2022, with help from businesses in the area, an innovative kindergarten was opened specially adapted to meet these local needs while drawing on international best practices and partnerships.
According to project Executive Director, Camila Toro, the kindergarten is “built like a beehive” featuring a range of specially designed activity areas, such as a music room filled with instruments, to facilitate diverse learning experiences for children.
The centre was constructed, decorated and equipped also with help from CANPACK. One volunteer reports how she feels it is “super cool” to contribute to the wellbeing of the children in this way.
A Holistic Approach to Nutrition and Education
Most of the children who come to the kindergarten have never been enrolled in educational institutions before. Many of them are tragically found to be educationally and socially underdeveloped and physically malnourished.
Good nutrition is closely linked to cognitive and social-emotional development. The Foundation therefore offers programs of psychological care alongside nursing support and proper nutritional advice.
The success of this strategy can be seen in children who were once apathetic, sickly and lacking in social confidence now becoming independent, autonomous and happy individuals.
A Space Full of Donations and Dreams
In the following years, CANPACK has helped with further development by building a playground for the children, and then opening an onsite barter shop where parents exchange not just practical items but ideas and experiences.
It’s a space “full of donations and dreams” says Toro, fostering a collaborative environment where community members come together to create a better future for their children and for their families. These informal social interactions also help to overcome the loneliness and isolation often felt by parents and caregivers.
“InmensaMente makes families grow” confirms Marianna Rosero, a mother and volunteer at the project. “The Foundation becomes a school of parenting” as families influence each other with positive reinforcement about good childcare.
Children And Community Growth Go Hand In Hand
Community engagement is a cornerstone of the project, fostering a sense of shared responsibility, pride and hope across the region. An important effect is that preschool children are becoming more socially visible as awareness is raised of the importance of these early years for forming productive future citizens.
Co-founder Camila Hoyos is passionate about the vision and drive behind InmensaMente:
“This beautiful project is showing people how kids should be educated at this age. Whoever wants to come can see that we are serious, that we are doing something great to make one shared dream come true for all of us”.
Investing In Our Future
The work of the Foundation is currently still small and local, reaching just 200 children out of thousands, but plans are already in place to expand. Training programs for volunteer caretakers are embedding the skills needed for quality childcare and education in the community.
The long-term goal is to replicate the success of InmensaMente’s holistic approach to child development in communities across the region.
Camilo Perez, General Director of CANPACK Colombia sums up the reason for CANPACK’s ongoing support for Fundación InmensaMente:
“This is especially important to us in Colombia because it is an investment for our own future and for the future of us all. The children are our legacy and our hope for a better society and a better world”.