Since 2014, at the Fraternidad Medellín Foundation we have had the privilege of accompanying and supporting the Cultural Association El Nido, a project that emerged after recognizing the educational needs of a group of early childhood children from La Sonadora, a rural village in El Carmen de Viboral, Antioquia, who lacked access to preschool education. Based on Waldorf pedagogy, El Nido provides children with a continuous and holistic process of growth and education.

As its name suggests, El Nido (“The Nest”) is a space to shelter and care. There, children, young people, and entire families discover their ability to give purpose and direction to their future through tools such as painting, music, theater, dance, and the visual arts.  

At 19 years old, Karen Henao sees El Nido as one of the greatest treasures of her life. She arrived when she was just a little girl, thanks to a neighbor in El Carmen de Viboral who told her family about the beginning of the organization in the town, and she became one of its first students. There she attended preschool, took guitar, violin, and choir classes, and learned weaving.  

She continued her studies at IER Santa María and never left her Nest. But a new chapter began in her life. Through her teachers, she learned that the Fraternidad Medellín Foundation had made a great contribution to her school and would continue to support them with several educational improvement programs. When she started ninth grade, she joined a new Socio-Occupational Guidance Program operated by the Corporación Pan and also funded by Fraternidad Medellín. For three years, psychologists helped her identify her strengths and define what she truly wanted. One of them, Juan David, told her about the Fraternidad Scholarship Fund, guided her through the process, and finally gave her the great news: thanks to her academic excellence and meeting all the requirements, she had earned a higher education scholarship. 

Ahora Karen estudia arquitectura en la Universidad Santo Tomás y su voz es un eco de esperanza, de felicidad y de gratitud.  “Yo quisiera que todos los jóvenes supieran que es posible estudiar y ser lo que uno quiere ser. Existen fundaciones, como Fraternidad Medellín que apoyan los sueños. No se necesitan roscas, solo empeño, ganas y esfuerzo”. 

Karen has never left El Nido. Whenever her studies allow, she visits and remembers with joy her time there. Now, she also finds in the word Fraternity a synonym for happiness, because thanks to it, today she is who she wants to be. That is why it is impossible not to feel moved when supporting these spaces that weave community and open new horizons.  

Without a doubt, El Nido is a reminder that when dreams are nurtured with affection and trust, the results go beyond expectations: they become living hope for an entire community.