Take a virtual tour of the Indigenous Wayuu community of Arema and its community center and see how light and solar energy will transform this community.
The community center of Arema includes (from right) a school comprising three classrooms, a kitchen and common area, and an artisan center. Several water jugs are kept for storing fresh water, and a shower and toilet area is being built in the back. Before early July, the village had no electricity.
The Sain Kai artisan center allows women from Arema and adjacent communities to have a designated place for the manufacturing and sewing of their handcrafts. Fitted with several looms, the room is mostly used for making mochilas (backpacks) and chinchorros (hammocks) to sell to tourists and locals in the area. At the time the room was set up for trekkers from GivePower Foundation to sleep in six chinchorros made within the village. Solar panels installed by GivePower and University of Southern California students and professors will provide electricity in the center, with lights and plugs that will allow women in the village to sew and weave into the night.
Most people gather at the central table of the community center. An adjacent kitchen was fitted with two freezers and a refrigerator after solar panels were installed in the village by GivePower and University of Southern California students and professors during their one-week trek in Colombia in July 2022. The kitchen also has gas stoves and serves as a key communal area where children and adults get their meals and spend the day talking under the shade.
The smallest room in the community center is the kinder classroom. With walls covered with educational posters and art, the room provides a very sheltered environment where the strong salty winds can’t disturb the activities. A television was be added to the classroom space in early July 2022 after solar panels were installed in the village by GivePower and University of Southern California students and professors.
The outermost classroom houses first grade through third grade. While currently furnished with chinchorros, the room is typically full of children learning from professor Reyes about a wide range of topics including: math, Spanish, Wayuunaiki, social and natural sciences.
The last classroom houses the oldest students spanning from fourth to fifth grade. The walls are covered with signs explaining writing exercises as well as mathematical problems.
Not far from the gates of the community center a couple of houses populate the area. Mostly made out of wood and tin with some concrete, these houses make out the crossroads of the community. Maria Barliza’s house takes center stage, including trees, a satellite dish and a wooden fence. As the leader of the community, this central position is important for her family.
At the very end of the village lies the Caribbean Sea. A building dedicated to fishing sits nearby, housing fishing nets and equipment. Several boats line up the coast while some houses populate the nearby areas. One refrigerator and two freezers powered by solar panels installed in July 2022 will allow fishermen to store fish longer and sell it, growing the economy in the village.
