▷ #VIDEO The advisory board of the city of Parquisimeto celebrates its seventh anniversary #26 February

This Saturday, February 25, various personalities and members of the Barquisimeto community Advisory Board of the City of Barquisimetomet to celebrate the seventh anniversary of this event of citizen participation and consultation.

This celebration pays tribute to Fe y Alegría in its 68th anniversary, and for this reason, the organization welcomed the participants to the Colegio Juan XXIII in Barquisimeto, the place where the sweet meeting took place.

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Afterwards, Professor Herlinda Gamboa entertained the audience with a reading of a poem by Fe y Alegria’s founder, Father José María Veláz.

The speech was read by Prof. Edward Aliso, Deputy Director of the Institute.

For his part, Dr. Reynaldo Rojas, a member of the advisory board of the city of Parquisimeto, recalled that the initiative was created seven years ago to allow citizens to participate in issues related to the city.

He made it clear that a city is built not only by buildings but also by people and therefore asked the citizens to be vigilant with the city administrators to protect it.

“A city is built, not only by buildings, it is built by people. We are citizens with a task before the city administrators, that is why we are called to protect the city, and as councilors we want to restore the institution,” he said.

During his speech, Rojas presented a publication from the newspaper El Impulso, which reviewed the creation of the city advisory board.

Dr. Reynaldo Rojas continued with a portrait of the founder of Fe y Alegria, Father José María Velas, and the institution celebrating its 68th anniversary, noting that “his vision was to fill the world with schools.”

Another of the participants of the event, Luisa Bernalade, a teacher, noted the state of education in Venezuela, stressing that the country is facing “many difficulties and problems”, but that a better future is possible if there are new generations.

“Venezuelan education has been in a real emergency for years. There are a million and a half young people out of the school system and we need 250,000 teachers,” he explained.

During these seven years, the Barquisimeto Advisory Group has carried out various activities to analyze and highlight the potential of Venezuela’s musical capital, highlighting its strategic geographic location, religious and cultural sites and its monuments. Make it one of the most important cities in Venezuela.

Below is the full text of Dr. Reynaldo Rojas:

Fe y Alegria defines itself as a “popular education and promotion movement”.
Community” was born on January 23 in Caracas on March 5, 1955 in a densely populated area.
It is present today in 22 countries in Latin America, Africa and Europe
More than 1,500,000 boys, girls, youth and adults from urban, rural and rural sectors
Various types of educational, social and human training programs and
labor

In Latin America and the Caribbean, its schools are in Argentina and Bolivia.
Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras,
Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Venezuela; It contains
In Africa, we find them in Chad and Madagascar and the movement extends into Europe
Spain and Italy. In this sense and without doubt, we can confirm that Fe y Alegría is
A very important pedagogy and popular education movement born in the lands
America with a Global Project. What is its characteristic? What are the foundations of pedagogy and
The educational philosophy underpinning this global program?

First, it is a powerful critical and alternative educational movement
As Paulo Freire calls it, “banking education,” it shortchanges students
For a simple container of information already processed by the author. This educational work
Complemented by social development of poor and marginalized people
Developing a program for social change based on Christian values ​​of justice,
Participation and unity.

Fe y Alegría is consistent with the concept of emancipatory pedagogy
Proposal at the General Synod of Medellin (1968), it was understood
Education “makes the student a deep subject of his own development (…)
Awareness of their human dignity, right to independent self-determination and promotion
Their sense of community.”

Paula Freire called education a practice of freedom and took it
Willingness to serve the poor, the most needy, making a plan with them
Education with an ethical and political consciousness, a pedagogy and support for freedom
Social change.

The movement was founded in 1955 by Father Jose Maria Velas, SJ (1910-1985).
Andrés Bello was born in Rancagua (Chile) when he was a professor at the Catholic University.
(UCAB9 and left with a small group of students organized by him
In a Marian congregation for pastoral work in settled communities
Steep slopes are now blocks of 23 de Enero. Impact of suffering
That he lived there is reflected in these words:
Juan XXIII School of Fe y Alegría: Sixty Years of Work in the Pro of Popular Education in Barquisimeto. Reynaldo Rojas.
February 16, 2023

“Going into the neighborhood brought me to the greatest misery I had ever seen.
Then he thought. The huts were made of tin, boards, drawers and bags
Old cement and all kinds of assorted materials. (…) It was like a
Enormous urban leprosy eroded the periphery of Caracas and according to the census
In that year, it covered more than 315,000 marginalized people
Capital.”

In the decade of the 50s Caracas lived through a profound change
Next to the construction of colorful avenues, highways and big buildings
Funded by oil revenues, popular neighborhoods are booming, mired in poverty
Lack of services. 23 De Enero was in Catia in the neighborhood, with that support
The first school was built with a simple donation from needy families
A mason named Abraham Reyes gave Padre Velas a farm.
It was built for his family to gather the first students of his school there.
Father Velas remembers after a mass office at a place
Such action, Mr. Reyes approached him and said: “Father, if you want to start a school, I will give it to you.
This place.” Fe y Alegria was born out of that act of detachment.

Years later, in 1962, Padre Velas came to Barquisimeto to preach.
The foundation of a Fe y Alegria school in the region, which led him to meet everyone
Economic, social and governmental sectors of the city to achieve this
Academic work. Land was given by the municipality in the growing barrio La Pastora.
Located between industrial zones, railroads and Quebrada la Ruesca,
The lands where the poorest families began to live, they cultivated
Farms – as in Caracas in 1955 – amid misery and lack of services.
The neighborhood is now part of the populous Union Parish of the Municipality of Iribarren.

In that fringe area of ​​Parghisimeto, with the support of the Sisters
“Behind the Railway Tracks”, appeared in 1963 by the Congregation of the Holy Angel.
John XXIII College. Its official launch was dated March 20, 1963
In the presence of Most Reverend Crispulo Benítez Fontervel, Bishop of Barquisimeto, Sisters
Angel Falls, Governor Eligio Anzola Anzola, Mr. Raul Asbaren, President
Barkisimeto’s Friends Association and Chamber President Mr. Antonio Benitez Mendes
Laura State Trading and Mr. Fernando Aristicueta, manager of various containers.
Fe y Alegria Charitable Society is the person authorized to receive this
Donation, later became Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Promotion Commission
from college.

The college started with classrooms built to accommodate 265 students.
First through third grade, Sister Eva Nistel as founding director
(Sonsoles), with Sister Rosalia Ferreiras (Clotilde), from the congregation
Angel Jump.