Education and Culture Travel Grants

Sara Rendon Pamplona, economics junior at EAFIT University, Medellin, Colombia visited Miami in September 2023. Her trip was part of the US State of Department Culture and Exchange Travel Grant managed by Partners of the Americas Washington Office. The trip entail volunteerism experiences as well as career exploration and readiness opportunities. She was hosted by the Silva Family in North Miami.
Some of the experiences included volunteering with Urban Paradise Guild, urbanparadiseguild.org; PATH: Preserving Archiving and Teaching HipHop https://www.pathtohiphop.org/, visit to the Earth Ethnics Institute, https://www.mdc.edu/earthethicsinstitute/; and the Business Innovation and Technology Center, https://www.mdc.edu/earthethicsinstitute/.

John Schoch, then Vice President, and his wife Marilu (another FPOA member) traveled to Bogota (and later to Barranquilla) in September, 2019, where he met with Bogota Chapter members Manuel Pena, Anita Lievano (Chapter President), and Nury Penagos to discuss several issues of interest to both chapters. He, also, participated in a well-attended meeting at the home of Anita Lievano where Bogota chapter members and NGO invitees discussed possible project activities. Additionally, he flew to Barranquilla, where he stayed with Bogota chapter member, Fabian Gonzalez, and visited Peace Corps operations. John met with Barranquilla chapter members at the University of Uninorte and afterwards toured the University del Atlántico.

John Schoch meets with project lead, Nury Penagos and the Directors of Eduardo Mendoza in Usme.

John Schoch visits with Nury Penagos and her class at that participates in the Our Birds Are Your Birds, Too project. See their website: http://ourbirdsareyourbirdstoo.blogspot.com/

John Schoch and Fabian Gonzalez at restaurant in Barranquilla (Sept., 2019)

Through the initiative of member David Berry, we collaborated with the Retired Peace Core Volunteer (RPCV) group of Jacksonville to sponsor a December, 2018 visit to Duval, Flagler and Volusia Counties for Diana Vasquez, Director of a Woman’s shelter in Cuenca, so that she could visit women’s shelters in those counties.

After attending the Partner’s What Works Conference, she traveled to Jacksonville, FL and visited the Hubbard House, a full-service certified domestic violence center; RETHREADED, an organization that works with survivors of human trafficking; the DOLORES BARR WEAVER POLICY CENTER, which does research and policy development on issues affecting women and girls; CLARA WHITE MISSION, a full-service organization training the homeless in culinary skills; QUIGLEY HOUSE (Green Cove Springs) a domestic and sexual violence center; and Betty Griffin House (St. Augustine), a 54 bed emergency shelter.
David & Bernadette Miron and Ellen Siler served as host for Diana’s time in the Jacksonville area. Ellen, known as one of the most recognized leaders for her work with abused women on the east coast of Florida, helped mentor Diana with several opportunities in the area.
She participated in the Rotary Club meeting in Jacksonville which included round-table discussion with representatives of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Department and State Attorney’s office, and service providers for victims of domestic violence. She also toured the Daytona Abuse Council in Daytona Beach and Family Life Center (shelter) in Flagler Beach. She toured Stetson University and met with the FPOA board members to discuss several initiatives in her country. The travel for this project was funded by a Partners Travel Grant.

Diana Vasquez discusses her experiences in the United States with Florida Partners on December 15, 2018 De La Vega Restaurant in DeLand Florida.

Juan Camillo from the Bogota Chapter visited with John and MaryLu Schoch to discuss chapter updates and possible project collaboration. September 22, 2018

Members Chantri Daise, Marilu Schoch, Barbara Bredis, Tony Abbott, Aiyanna Maciel, and others at the July Florida Partners Quarterly Meeting discuss project details with the organizers of Amigos Unidos.
Ms Mercedes James, president of the Amigos Unidos organization, presented their project work and outreach with the youth of Colombia at a Florida Partners Quarterly meeting at the Lynn Business Center at Stetson University. The mission of the Amigos Unidos, a non-profit organization, is to provide support to needy individuals, with an emphasis on children, the elderly, and the mentally handicapped worldwide. Florida Partners seek to opportunities for mutual projects. For more information on the Amigos Unidos, visit http://amigosunidos.org/

Sue Mahan, who serves as the chapter’s Regional Director for Northern Colombia, met with several members of the Barranquilla Partners and visited the Fundación Cede social Barranquilla.  The Cede social Agency works with sexually abused and trafficked women, children; orphans; and Venezuelan refugees.  While there, the agency directors discuss and share their current projects with Sue and make their requests for training opportunities. She also, visited CEINE- Centro Educativa Integral Nueve Esperanza, an organization in Soledad, which has built a community center, kitchen, and school to aid and support women and children in need. Dr. Mahan supports each location with staff workshop trainings. In this spring session, she provided a workshop to the entire staff about Dealing with Stress which included breathing techniques and meditation. 

Top, L to R: Fernando Vasquez, Silvana Gomez, Ana Elvira Navarro, Maria Amaris. Bottom: Carmen Helena Jimenez, Gina Pezzano, Sue Mahan, Karina Casado

Gina Pezzano and other members of the Barranquilla chapter meet with Florida Partners Regional Liaison, Sue Mahan to discuss project updates.

Sue Mahan visiting the Venezuelan children at CEINE

Stetson University Professor, Tony Abbott, former chapter President, and his wife Barbara Bredis, also a FPOA member, took a cadre of Stetson students to Colombia. In May-June, 2017 Professor Abbott organized and guided a group of students, skilled in international community service and relations, visited various Colombian locations to connect and develop network ties with students with partners in Colombia. These Mentored Field Experience students collaborated with the students from the Partners Campus chapter in Colombia which supported the planning and development of the Partners Campus at Stetson University. This trip utilized extensive support from both Colombian Chapters in Bogota and Barranquilla which included the following contacts and activities:
• Bogota (Lorena Lopez, Luis Carlos Villaveces, Luz Adriana Retrepo)
• •UniAndes, Universidad Distrital, Universidad de La Salle, Teaching and Learning English Program, Formemos (Andres Carne de Res and Mina de Sal)
• Cartegena (Maralex Martinez)
• •Corporación Universitaria Rafael Núñez, Institución Tecnológica Colegio Mayor de Bolívar (Beach and the Fortress)
• Barranquilla (Maralex Martinez, Sixto Duran, Fabian Gonzalez)
• •Regional Student Chapter Reunion UniAtlantico and UniNorte with students from Guajira in attendance.
• •Amor Fiel (UniAtlantico Service Project)
Outcomes included formation of a Partners Campus chapter at Stetson; this chapter later hosted two visitors supported by Partners Cultural Exchange Grants. This trip was funded through Stetson University.

When our group traveled to Barranquilla, we had the pleasure of meeting a bright young student of chemistry who was working on project to capture whey protein (a waste product in a lot of dairy processing) as a product to be used a a nutritional supplement. He asked partners for funding to support an internship he has organized at FSU, but needs further support. He has started a crowdfunding campaign–please have a look and share this with friends!