The “Secretos para Contar” Foundation was created in 2004, driven by a series of questions that led its founders to reflect on the educational reality in rural areas of Colombia. What do rural families read? Do they have access to books? How do rural children study? How are rural teachers trained? 

To find answers, the Foundation carried out an exploration in deep rural Antioquia and discovered a concerning reality: a lack of printed materials in rural households and a shortage of resources in school libraries. They also found that most rural schools only offered education up to 5th grade and that teachers received very limited training. 

In response to this reality, they created an educational project designed to address the specific needs of rural communities. They aimed to design strategies, content, and training workshops that would enable access to knowledge and foster holistic development. 

Over these 20 years, Fraternidad Medellín has supported the “Secretos para Contar” program through the promotion of reading and libraries, and since 2017 through the Rural Education Alliance (ERA), supporting the improvement of rural education quality through active, inclusive, and relevant strategies, with the aim of providing more opportunities in these territories. 

To date, 147,000 people have benefited thanks to hundreds of individuals who travel by mule, boat, plane, or off-road vehicles—whatever is needed—to deliver carefully curated book collections and reading and writing promotion programs that create educational and cultural experiences rooted in joy, respect, and knowledge, generating well-being for the inhabitants of rural Colombia.   

We hope to continue joining efforts to improve education, sharing “Secretos” and bringing the power of Fraternidad to many corners of Antioquia.