Raúl, a member of Forjar Oportunidades, who likes to build cardboard airplanes, got the children of his neighborhood in Buenaventura, through a citizenship action, to let their dreams fly and to stop violence. Here is his story.
Raul has always loved to build airplanes. He has been making them since he was very young and always with the materials he has at hand, such as paper or cardboard. Recently, the 19-year-old even turned a street in Buenaventura into a kind of airport. He, of course, was the pilot.
Raul, who is a beneficiary of Forjar Oportunidades, a program that the Sidoc Foundation put at the service of the Compromiso Valle alliance, took advantage of a citizenship action to get the children of his neighborhood out of the monotony. In this sector, through a playful day, Raul managed to get ten children to get on an airplane for the first time. Or many airplanes.
"I came up with the activity because I have been seeing children playing with mud and stones for a long time. What I did was to get some pieces of cardboard, buy some cardboard, draw the airplanes, assemble them and decorate them with marker. When I had the airplanes ready, I approached the children and told them that I had other toys that were better for them, that they didn't need to get dirty and that they could keep them at home. The children were happy, they played all day, I took pictures and showed them how to use them," says Raul.
In addition, he explains very confidently, "I did this activity because for a long time, since I was a child, I have loved airplanes. But also because there are times when I'm bored and with what I have at hand I make airplanes, even if they are made of paper, and this makes me very happy, takes away my stress and makes me spend the day in a better way".
When Raúl speaks of stress, he is referring in part to what is happening in the neighborhood in terms of the dynamics of coexistence, violence, invisible borders, etc., which has intensified recently. "When I talk about stress, I am referring to the tension that the community feels, that the children feel. That's why this activity made us all busy, with our minds on something specific, even if it was just for a day. By doing this kind of thing I feel that I develop my knowledge, but I also feel happy for the children. Many parents even thanked me," she says.
Perhaps Raul does not know it, much less the children, but that day, thanks to this action of citizenship, they all crossed the invisible borders of their neighborhood with cardboard airplanes. Without any risk, in peace, letting their dreams fly.
Raul's dreams
Raul, the young man who has been building airplanes since he was a child, now dreams of building a real one. He says it and his tone of voice changes a little, as if that was what he really wanted most at that moment.
"I have not ridden in an airplane, but I would like it very much, it would be something very cool, a dream. All my life I have seen them pass through the sky of Buenaventura and I always think how is it possible that such a big pod can fly in the air like a bird, with such heavy materials. How a human being is able to put something like that in the air, I am terrified and I find it very cool," he says.
Raúl graduated from high school last December, and for now he is happy in the Forjar Oportunidades program, of which he says "I think it's great because it has several lines of action that are important and seeks to make some of the dreams I have materialize".
Later on, Raul plans to study two careers: Aeronautical Engineering and Business Administration. "I think I will first study Administration, set up a business and when everything is working well, I will look into Aeronautics, who knows if I will ever get to make, at least, an airplane for myself", says Raul, again, with that tone of voice that sounds so confident.
