Before dawn, the bus was already loaded: officials from the UIS Inventory Section, technicians, artists from the UIS Theater and Dance groups, and a team from the Communications Department. It was not yet six in the morning when they set off for the Los Curos Educational Institution in Piedecuesta, carrying school kits, entertainment, and furniture: tables, chairs, desks, and electrical measuring instruments for their laboratory, as part of the UIS Social Responsibility Donation Program.
Upon arrival, nearly 500 students, teachers, and parents were waiting with smiles. Music, theater, and dance mixed with the excitement of receiving tools that will strengthen the education of hundreds of children and young people.
The UIS Theater Group and Dance Group provided entertainment with plays and traditional dances. The student community enjoyed these performances, which seemed to further strengthen the ties between the university and the rural school.
For the rector, William Sarmiento Gómez, this visit represents an invaluable opportunity: “It is well known that public institutions have many shortcomings in many areas, from infrastructure to the simple elements needed to create a suitable learning environment, such as desks, computers, and all the other items that are necessary. So, given this lack of resources, we turn to you (UIS) for collaboration, for your generous help, so that we can try to provide our students with better resources. That is our intention.”
The student representative, Juan Manuel Serrano Hernández, highlighted the importance of the UIS having set its sights on his institution: “Thank you very much for the support and the equipment you brought to the school. It is very important that you take us into account. We are grateful to the whole school, the teachers, the representative, and the institution for bringing this learning equipment.”
For the younger students, the day was a mixture of gratitude and dreams. Danna Isabella Rangel García, a primary school student, shyly and enthusiastically said, “I liked everything, the dancers, the actors, I am grateful that they brought chairs and desks, and thank you for everything you did to make us laugh. I would like to be a dancer and belong to the UIS groups.”
Families also felt the impact. Miriam García Pérez, a mother, simply summed up the value of the assistance: “This assistance is very beneficial for our children. It helps and contributes to their studies and helps each child’s education.”
The activity, part of the Social Responsibility Donations program that the UIS has been running since 2012, seeks to dignify the public sector by providing furniture, equipment, and materials to educational institutions in need, thereby strengthening the quality of education and the sense of community.
When the bus left to return, Los Curos was left not only with a large amount of furniture and laboratory equipment, but also with a day that left its mark. Amid applause, laughter, and promises to return, the UIS reaffirmed that its commitment to education begins in the smallest classrooms.
