An education without limits

It is impossible not to make this reflection when talking about ProFuturo. This program, promoted by Obra Social "la Caixa" and Fundación Telefónica, works to reduce the educational gap in the world by bringing the digital universe closer to children and teachers in low-resource environments in 23 countries in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Last July, the head of university and chair relations at Telefónica Spain, Alejandro Chinchilla, volunteered at the Aliñambi Foundation school in Quito (Ecuador), an experience that made him see how the reality of 170 children and eight teachers took a 180-degree turn.

"Not knowing how to use technology is like having a house and not having electricity or running water. You become isolated and miss out on a lot of opportunities," says Alejandro. He then tells us that during the 11 days of volunteering, they taught the children, through interactive programs, knowledge about values, the environment, and how to have a healthy diet. According to Alejandro, their smiles constantly showed that being in contact with something as common for us as tablets or computers filled them with excitement and motivated them to learn. And the best of all is that, with those classes, those kids began to write their future.

"To study, we used to need money. Now we can do it much more easily, thanks to the free online tutorials or educational platforms. The greatness of ProFuturo is that children have the possibility to go as far as they want, even if they don't have money to pay for tuition," insists Alejandro. "What I liked most was seeing the excitement we were transmitting to those children," he adds.

Among all the students at the school, one of the biggest changes he noticed was in a group of 14-year-old girls who were also single mothers. Before immersing themselves in the classes, they believed they would have no other future than to be mothers and marry for a man to support them. However, the volunteers made them see that, in reality, they had always had an infinite range of possibilities. "It was important for them to understand that they were not limited by having a child. That they could do whatever they wanted. That now they had a new door (the internet) before them that they could open. A door that, for them, did not exist before. What faces they made when they heard us!" says Alejandro.

And so that the volunteers' teachings would not be carried away by the wind, they also trained the teachers. "Now everything is managed with technology. As teachers, we have to be immersed in information and communication technologies. What better subject to teach our students?" says first-grade Basic Education teacher, Maribel Alava, when talking about tools with which, according to her, they will be able to partially counteract the disadvantages that have always accompanied her students.

As Alejandro says, "some of the boys and girls come from broken families or are alone in life," which is why he believes that the self-sufficiency that technology will give them could, over time, give them greater self-confidence that will encourage them to achieve their goals. "Some may even end up being the lawyers, journalists, and doctors they dream of being when they grow up." The important thing is that they have already taken the first step.

Text: Alba Losada Illustrations: Magoz

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