We spoke with a young man, who decided to take fate into his own hands with the support of Ciudad de Dios Zoe. He lives at the foundation and always has a helping hand while stuyding and working part-time.
Well, tell me about yourself. What’s your name?
My name is Duver. I’m 22 years old and I’m from the department of Cauca in the South of Colombia.
And are you studying?
Yes, right now I’m studying. I’m studying mechanical engineering at university. I’m in my seventh semester, and if God allows, now I’ll be starting the eighth semester of the degree. At the moment I live here at the foundation and I also work. So basically, I work and study.
What do you work in?
Right now I’m working at a restaurant on the weekends, and sometimes I also work at night. And other times I work in a workshop, an auto repair shop, and there I go and work, getting the hang of mechanics and all that…
And when did you come to the foundation?
I’ve been here quite a while. I left Cauca because of security problems. My home was in a red zone. There weren’t many options. It was either join the guerrilla or get into coca harvesting. Since I didn’t want that life, I left to finish high school. I first arrived at a foundation in Bogotá called Fundación Suba, where I did a pre-university course. And after that, I got into university, and later on I found out about Ciudad de Dios Zoe through some moms we worked with, because we were also tutoring kids from the foundation in Suba. That’s how I got here, and I’ve been living here since then.
Are you here with your family?
No, I’m completely on my own. I don’t have any of my family here.
But you’re still in contact with your family?
Yes, I’m still in touch with my dad and my brothers. But honestly, I’ve been pretty distant from everyone. I don’t usually call — they’re the ones who call me. I normally don’t call, but yes, I’m still in contact with them.
And what plans do you have once you finish university? What’s the idea you have for your future?
Well, right now in the short term, it’s to do my academic specialization, hopefully in another country. And later on, in the longer term, the idea is to have my own workshop to work with cars.
Thank you for the conversation and best of luck with your plans.