Taliana Vargas became the social manager of Cali with a clear commitment, to fight for the women of the city, and to do so she launched the CuidArte program.
Her experience with the Casa en el Arbol Foundation, which she created more than eleven years ago, has now allowed her to work for Cali women, to know what their real needs are and to provide many of them with the support they require.
The social manager and wife of the mayor, Alejandro Eder, of the city spoke with El País and told of the development that the CuidArte program has had so far, after a month of being in operation.
What is the CuidArte program about and who will it benefit?
CuidArte is the first care ecosystem in the city of Cali and is dedicated to female caregivers, their children, older adults and people with disabilities. Currently, we are in the first ecosystem, but the idea is to reach 16.
What are those specific activities that are offered?
They can finish their high school degrees, they receive well-being, psychosocial support, training in income generation, and the best thing is that while they do their work they can take care of the family.
Currently, the community surrounding Laureano Gómez is benefiting, but what comes next?
How many people are currently benefiting?
We have started with 300 women, and it is truly wonderful to hug them because these women cannot believe that after so much time they have been chosen for a social project.
For example, one of the psychosocial support courses had just finished and a 74-year-old woman told me: ‘you have never thought of me, thank you because you are doing this’, so I told her: if I support women it will transform Cali.
How have the resources been obtained?
In that sense, now what we are looking for are washing machines, because the woman who takes care of her home has to wash all the clothes for the week on Saturdays and Sundays, so they have to continue working at home and they do not have a recreational space to even them or to share with their children and family.
What positive experiences have they had?
There are many, they have had training in sewing, plastic arts and even dance.
For example, last week I came and a grandmother was swimming with her grandson and they were both learning to swim, which seems like a divine thing to me.
What other social projects are you planning as a social manager?
For me, cultural heritage is key and I feel that the Pacific deserves a much more important space in that sense in Colombia. What does this mean? Our crafts have not been organized, we do not have a space in Cali where we all feel proud of the cultural heritage we have through crafts. Therefore, we are in that project.
How will these projects be articulated with an event as important as COP16?
Guess when we’re launching the big design and craft store? It will be for COP16, we are working like crazy for that. Today in Cali there is no space where one can vibrate, feel, and understand the artisan. Then, that space will be ready for COP16.
There are rumors that say that she will be in charge of managing the COP16 green corridor, is this true?
We are working with a gigantic, wonderful team to give the best welcome to all countries and their delegations. There is a space where we are all going to travel called the Green Zone, so there have to be spaces for academia, cultural, artistic, mappings.
It is a gigantic challenge because you have to work with pure recycled products, but at the same time design in architecture, so that’s what I’m doing.
