I grew up in a community where there was a lot of poverty. My community in Medellin, Colombia did not have schools or hospitals, and the houses were all made of wood. There were no projects to help young people have opportunities, but what did abound was violence, drugs, and abuse in all forms. My mother was abandoned by my father when I was born. She had to take full responsibility for my brothers and me. Every day my older brother and I had to walk for five hours to the closest school to study. At the age of 15, I decided to speak with the leader of my community. We achieved housing reform, new schools, hospitals, e-projects to create opportunities for young people, libraries, cable cars, rapid transit buses, and much more.

That’s why my work with PAVE is powerful — because, once again, we are the community united for the same cause: education! I know that to achieve change, it takes teamwork and being able to listen to families about their needs. We can all come together to create a better future for our little ones.

Yes, we can do it with Love, Discipline, Responsibility, Courage, and Focus with our community. Complete biography can be found at https://www.dcpave.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Power-Autobiography_Mo...

Provided by the Alameda Sun Staff