On October 6, the MAPFRE Foundation – the hand of its Majesty Dona Sofia – organized an event to honor four important personalities: Abel Veiga, Doctor of the University of Pontificia Comillas, Miguel Carballeda, the eleven, the singer
Raphael, who received a prize for a lifetime, and the Catalina Escobar lecturer (50), who for 20 years run the Juanfe Foundation.
A Colombian organization that tries to reduce infant mortality, prevent adolescent pregnancy and care for mothers who are in a situation of vulnerability.
At the beginning of 2000, Catalina Escobar had everything: a well-known situation and a great work as a businesswoman.
Perp A domestic accident caused the death of her son and her life gave an immensely drastic turn.
“The idea of the Juanfe began to be around my head after my son died, he fell off an eighth floor when he had a year and a half. At that time I was working in the private sector, but he was very involved in the sector.
Social, with a volunteer in a public hospital … so I think everything began to give alone, “says Escobar to Loc.
At the beginning, the JuanFe Foundation – which until today bears the name of the Son of Catalina – had as a main task reduce infant mortality in Cartagena.
However, Escobar got much more.
“We lower the rate by 81% in the first seven years of operation,” says philanthropist, and then explain “the new mission of La Juanfe”: Help adolescent mothers.
“Through the experience we realized that adolescent pregnancy is the greatest perpetuator of poverty. When a girl is poor and get pregnant, stop studying and that deteriorates the social growth of a country. That’s why we started working the 360 model
Degrees, “he says.
And what is this model about?
To “repair the soul of violated girls and reintroduce them in the academic part.”
“We work with girls who have been victims of different types of violence, it is as if they were intensive care patients, but emotional … and our great promise is to help them out of poverty in two years so that they can then get formal jobs.
They go through a great process and the most incredible thing is that they do not become pregnant until six years later, “says Escobar, who has received broad international recognition.
And is that the Juanfe Foundation has helped 245,000 people in 20 years.
A figure from which Catalina is proud.
“The total impact of the Juanfe has been thousands of people and makes us immensely happy to touch so many people. For example, we have saved more than 4,900 babies, saved from chronic malnutrition to more than 21,000 children, we have helped
More than 1,300 young people and today we are attending to the Venezuelan migratory population. That is, we are high impact, “says Escobar with a smile.
Although there is something that bits it … and it is the lack of interest that governments have put on certain issues.
“It makes me badly forgot for the governments, that these mothers are invisible … is that there are many distractors, among them, politics and … Look, I tell you the truth: we do not need more scientists, lawyers or economists
, what we need is from the compassion of people. Because while water is being discovered in Mars, today they are here 50 million children in Latin America hungry, then while poverty persists, it does not work to discover water on Mars. These are
Large distractors. In addition polarization, envy and indifference, “manifest.
Likewise, Escobar criticizes, with special emphasis, the lack of public funding.
“We would love to be able to establish this model in other countries. But I do not have how to replicate if I do not have someone to finance it. Because this is a model that requires a lot of investment … and what we are doing now is financing us through the private sector.
For example, in countries such as Chile or Panama we have franchised the model. They buy it and we make an identical methodological transfer, “revenge Catalina.
Despite this, the Colombian is sure that if there were government policies, it could be reproduced faster.
“The most expedited way to advance is through public policies and I have all hope that this, in the future, happens,” she ends.
