Popayán (Colombia) The prolonged lockdown time due to the Coronavirus pandemic, has led many Educating Communities to reflect in depth on some values such as the meaning of life, love for the family, return to the essentials, appreciation for small things . The Contagia tu buena Vibra Project, implemented by Christ the King Educational Institute of Popayán, Cuenca, of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians of the Colombian Province of Our Lady of the Rosary of Chiquinquirà (CBC), aims to promote collaboration, strengthen human and Christian values, improve communication, and sharing of experiences so that everyone can offer their contribution to the common good.
The project is inspired by the words of Pope Francis on the occasion of the Moment of Extraordinary Prayer in the Time of the Pandemic of 27 March 2020, “We were taken aback by an unexpected and furious storm. We realized that we were in the same boat, all fragile and disoriented, but at the same time, important and necessary, all called to row together, all in need of comforting each other. On this boat … we are all there”.
All pupils and students who participate in Contagia tu Buena Vibra are called to ‘infect’ others with the good they experience in their day which, however small it may be, can demonstrate how even in difficult situations it is possible to bring out the inner potential. At the beginning of the school year in the presence of the pupils, some proposals were: getting to school on time, keeping the rooms in order, participating in the animated recreations, being educated with classmates and teachers, being responsible in lessons and in study, participate with joy in pastoral initiatives. The participation of all pupils earned points for the class.
With the lockdown, the Project grew through the hashtag #familiacristoreyencasa, involving the families as well through the institutional Facebook page to continue to motivate the commitment, promote the challenges, and assign points that will allow the Salesian prize to be awarded, once isolation is over. Dancing sessions, formation moments for parents, proposals for solidarity gestures, sharing photos showing the flowers of the month of May, and the commitment to beautify one’s home, listening to testimonies, … are some of the activities proposed by the FMA Community of the Sacred Heart of Popayán, together with teachers and educators, to continue to form, even during the Pandemic, “good Christians and honest citizens”.
