Citizens with Good Energy

On the steep streets of Bogota's La Merced Sur neighborhood, where the biting wind whips the cheeks of its inhabitants, people who go to great lengths to earn their daily bread, a group of women work tirelessly to help improve the life conditions of their neighbors.

One of them is Amparo Uribe, who for over 37 years has positively impacted this community through the Centro Social Unidad. “The most rewarding part of this experience is seeing the smiles on the children's faces, seeing that people come to the social center and we can help them lives more peacefully,” explains Amparo, who does literacy work, recreation, value formation and training for people in various trades.

Amparo engages in this work in a neighborhood formerly known as Los Chircales, in one of the most depressed areas of the capital and cradle of quarries whose inhabitants worked at making bricks. Amparo's endeavors were recognized by our Group during the Ciudadanos Con Buena Energía (Citizens with Good Energy) event, third edition. Its goal is to uncover the stories of anonymous characters whose good actions have benefited the country's capital and its inhabitants.

We selected 3 social projects from among the 10 finalists. Along with Amparo, the work of Yesenia Mosquera, a woman displaced by violence, who six years ago created a streaming television channel to promote and strengthen the respect for her Afro-descendant community throughout Colombia, was also recognized.

“I came to Bogotá because I am a victim of the armed conflict and what drove me to create this project was the desire to help my people, to see them empowered, to see my race prosper,” says Yesenia, adding that her great motivation was the desire to build a more just society and help close the inequality gap.

The third award-winning was Rodrigo Meléndez, a doctor who decided 10 years ago to dedicate himself to caring for Bronx residents (homeless people), who need help and cannot afford to visit a doctor or go to an emergency room.

“Homeless people need a differential approach and everyone's solidarity. The most rewarding part of this experience is learning every day from the homeless people and helping them to get ahead,” the doctor acknowledges. This doctor from the District Institute for the Protection of Children and Youth (IDIPRON, for the Spanish acronym) took on this task when he had his office in downtown Bogotá, an area where there were very few medical centers.

“Many times, when I left work at night, I met sick people who were waiting for me to take care of them. One day, one of them told me to go to the Bronx street because it was a place where there were many people who needed my help,” he says.

Astrid Álvarez, President of Grupo Energía Bogotá, confirmed that she will continue to recognize in future editions of the Citizens with Good Energy awards those leaders who with selfless actions help build a better country for future generations.