During the Concurso Ideas award ceremony, Gustavo J. Vollmer asked the audience, “Who among you, right now, feels uncertain about anything?” A sea of hands shot up in response. He continued, asking, “But, likewise, who has some certainty about their work, the impact it has, and the way to achieve it?” This question was also met with a resounding affirmation from the entire auditorium.
Obviously, his message was to focus on the things we can control, even in the face of uncertainty. At Fundación Impronta, we’re wrapping up a 2024 filled with hard work and partnerships that allow us to remain committed to serving Venezuela, especially its children, youth, and the community we serve.
For our – thankfully long – list of collaborators and allies, I wanted to summarize our achievements but preferred to convey them through 3 simple stories that symbolize the certainties we’ve confirmed through our work.
Norelys is a 6th-grader at Don Bosco School in Brisas de Turumo. She joined “Reading on Wheels” when the program started at her school in 2022. Knowing her since she was little – with her cheerful and outgoing personality – we thought she wouldn’t have difficulty reading. That wasn’t the case, and she was one of the first girls to join the “mechanic workshop,” as we call the program’s psych-pedagogy area. There, she truly learned to read at a level appropriate for her age, which allowed her to hone her social and communication skills. This year, she was recognized as the “Child Volunteer of the Year” for helping many other children in the program.
Like Norelys, 169 other children participate in this reading program every afternoon, which received the most awards this year in the Concurso Ideas. Like her, 3,558 other children benefit from reading teaching programs and support for academic underachievement that we are developing in 10 primary schools in Caucagüita, where we have trained and supported 118 teachers and their management teams. All of this is thanks to the “Leo, Juego y Aprendo” program and other initiatives promoted by the “Alliance for Education,” a large national movement of which we are allies and where new programs and greater reach will come.
We met Yitsell through a friend who called me worried. “Bernardo, there’s a young woman from Caucagüita studying medicine at the UCV with my daughter. She’s about to drop out due to health problems, probably linked to malnutrition.” Indeed, we visited Yitsell and her family, a very humble family living on the old Petare-Guarenas highway.
For the first time, our scholarship fund recipe wasn’t to pay the tuition, but rather for a residence near the Vargas Hospital where she could focus on her studies and save on transportation costs; as well as a maintenance contribution that helped Yitsell gain 7 kilos in a month and a half, regain her smile and color, and buy her first stethoscope, as well as a dress for what was to come. On December 13th, Yitsell graduated as a medical doctor at the UCV’s Aula Magna.
Alexander is a sports trainer at the court in the La Embajada sector, the one we restored years ago. When Henry Vivas, a community leader who brought us to Caucagüita, was on his deathbed, he asked us to support Alexander so that the team would not give up. On November 23rd, the “Botafogo” children’s futsal team debuted new balls and modern uniforms funded thanks to the sponsors and runners of the Reto Impronta, which broke a participation record this year. They premiered them by running the wonderful 5k that we do right in the community, where our own beneficiaries are the protagonists. In its fifth edition, this race is not just a sporting event, but a celebration of citizenship and solidarity.
Alexander achieved a dream we always had with sports this year: a group of his kids was admitted to the “future vinotinto” program. Bringing people closer to Caucagüita and being able to highlight their talents has been part of the opportunities we seek.
I hope you’ve made it this far, because these and hundreds of other stories, which would make the tale endless, are possible thanks to each person and institution that believes in the work of Fundación Impronta. And you are among them.
A million thank you and Merry Christmas!
Bernardo Guinand Ayala