I finally go with my Chilean friend Nieves to visit Carita Feliz. This is a program that was started by a Danish man who has lived in Granada for years. I’ve been wanting to see for myself the impact that this man’s vision is having on so many people’s lives.
He created and personally funds a very large school in the barrio, which includes a free evening meal for any child in the community. The school is run in an interesting way, based on a premise that reinforces positive behaviors. For instance, children can earn “tokens” for academic performance, good attendance, responsibility and independence. The children can then use the tokens for special events, such as movie night (an idea that came from interviewing the kids about what it is that makes them feel “different” from more fortunate familes).
The school in addition to regular classes also teaches skills that can be used to gain access to jobs and progress in life. For example, there are classes in hair dressing, knitting and cooking.
It is amazing to walk into a huge gymnasium size room filled with about 200 childran, from age 2 to 18, sitting at long tables waiting for the meal which Nieves and I are going to help serve. The experience that is provided by Carita Feliz is multi-faceted. Not only is there free food, but there is entertainment, courtesy of various classes of kids who have practiced dance or gymnastic routines. It is very clear that the groups of kids performing are very much enjoying the opportunity to be on stage, showing off what they have prepared for the evening. In the process, they develop confidence and a sense of achievement.
There is another dimension to the Carita Feliz — it is part of yet a larger program funded and executed by Peter. The larger initiave is a housing program wrapped around a leading edge micro-finance concept. Peter’s organization lends a portion of the funds for barrio residents to buy a house, which gets paid back on an incremental scale based on repayment capability over a few years. Their collection rate is extremely high.Granada is known to have a good integration of foreigners and locals. One of the reasons is that many “foreigners” who live here or are passing through tend to be involved in some kind of volunteer work or other endeavor with potential for social impact. Peter’s Carita Feliz is a good role model and inspiration for how it can be done on a large scale.