La Esperanza is the latest Costa Foundation school to open in Colombia and is undoubtedly one of the most impressive yet.
An earthquake left the previous school so badly damaged that most of the structures had to be demolished to make way for the new "seismically approved" facilities. One of the first challenges was to ensure that clean water and safe electricity supplies could reach the school, which is perched on top of a mountain in a remote, rural area, some 112km away from Bogota.
Completed in January 2010, La Esperanza now proudly boasts:
- Seven new classrooms
- Four laboratories
- A cafeteria
- A library
- A new playground
On top of all this work, a child nutrition programme has been introduced to make sure all children can enjoy nutritious meals, and following the success of their pilot scheme at Anatoli school, Intel have donated small "Classmate" laptops for the children here. The community has also linked with Bogota University to provide two full-time GPs plus the equipment and medicine needed to diagnose and treat illnesses in Vergara via a "Tele-Medicine" scheme. This links the remote patients with specialists in Bogota, potentially saving four journeys of 112km.
The official opening of the school was attended by the Colombian Minister of Education, who announced a new Colombian Government agreement to fund 40% of all future rural schools built to the Foundation model. She also declared that schools such as this were 'a true solution for peace in Colombia' enabling children to seek an education rather than becoming involved in drugs and violence, which are so rife in the region.
