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‘Changing the world is tough but it’s worth it’
Interview with Pazamanos

ImagenJuan and Eliana sharing their story over breakfast. (Photo: Blair Sandler)


By Ilonka Wloch

We would like to kick off shining a light on what’s positive in Colombia with Pazamanos, a 4-year-old organization working primarily in the poorer neighborhoods of Medellin. Pazamanos, meaning peace through hands, aims - through creative arts installations - to help us see each other’s humanness in order to live in a more peaceful world. Its projects include Heroes, Dreams From Inside, and We Are Here. Pazamanos founder, Eliana Uribe, and project director, Juan Carlos Anadón, share their story. (This interview was conducted in English.) 

Positive News: What inspired you to start Pazamanos?

Eliana: We lived in a very difficult city. Medellin was one of the most dangerous cities in the world in the 80’s and 90’s and my family and I were victims of the violence. My brother was killed when I was 10 years old. Since then, I wanted to understand why people kill each other and what’s going on with us as human beings. I decided to study psychology but I still don’t know the answer.
Then, I went to England where I did my masters [degree] and I met Juan. When I came back some of my friends were doing a project with the mayor. The main goal was to go to places where people were doing amazing things for their communities but were unknown to others. I fell in love with that project and I decided to start this organization.
Then, going to new territories and talking to people opened our minds a lot to many things we could do. Understanding their circumstances and their realities and not to impose or do something for them but with them.
Juan: I was born in Argentina, in the poorest department called Chaco. The way my parents [raised] me and the things I saw around me inspired me to be [socially involved]. When I met Eliana in England she was starting the organization and invited me to come. I came for 6 months and then stayed on.

PN: How is it that you make contact with a community and win their trust? 
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Juan: To me it’s really simple. It’s about being human and empathic. We see the people we work with as equal human beings.
Eliana: The same way we would talk to a CEO of a big corporation or to you, or the mayor of the city. We don’t have a hierarchy; we talk to the human being that is inside of you, your spirit. No one can teach you that in school, it’s something that you believe in. And I think that people can feel that. They can see that we’re honest. 
Normally, the way we make contact is through networking. “Do you know someone who lives in this or that place?” — and we just go [to them]. And it’s amazing because the people in El Poblado [wealthy neighborhood of Medellin] have no idea. They think that it’s dangerous, because of their lack of knowledge. I can go and party in a neighborhood perceived as dangerous and stay until 2 in the morning and I feel safe. Yesterday, I was in a meeting with a person from a big organization  and he asked how we would get there. I said “I’ll pick you up and we’ll go.” “No,” he said in disbelief. “Yes,” I replied.

​Juan: In Medellin we have 20 different cities in one city and they don’t communicate, so what we want is for the people of Medellin to start living in the entire Medellin and not in different bubbles where I don’t know who is doing what over there and I don’t care and I think that it doesn’t affect me. No, we want the people to start understanding that we all affect one another. 
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Death has become a daily part of the neighborhoods of Medellin, and this has resulted in the loss of value for human life. The campaign “Live” invites the community to celebrate life. Here displayed on the building is “Vive con allegría.” - Live with joy. (Photo by Pazamanos)

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PN: What are the projects with which you’re currently involved?

Juan:  At the moment, we are working with an organization called ANDI [National Association of Industries] and the municipality of Medellin on the Global Entrepreneurship Congress, which will be held here next year. They called us because they wanted to showcase different entrepreneurs from the city, but what we proposed was to take the participants to the different neighborhoods.
Eliana: When they came to us they wanted them [the entrepreneurs from poor neighborhoods] to come to the congress and, I don’t know, dance or paint, and we were saying “noooo, let’s take the people to the communities - no social distinctions.” So now, we are working on that because we assume that many visitors will come to their communities. And the community will participate in creating an infrastructure for that.

PN: Which of the projects has been the most successful?

Juan: The one which has developed the fastest is called Heroes and now it is an organization itself, run by an ex-member of Pazamanos. The project is about showing new role models to the community, those that others can look up to. It almost works like advertising, with big photos [of the heroes] displayed on buildings.

PN: How did you decide which heroes to put up?

Eliana: The community told us who they think should be displayed.
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Heroes 13 is a project celebrating local heroes who inspire the youth in a positive way. (Photo by Pazamanos)
PN: If you were granted three wishes to benefit the economically poor of Medellin, what would you ask for?

Juan: Medellin is one of the most economically unequal cities in Colombia and even in South America. We need to close the gap as a society and have more [equal] access to opportunities.
Eliana: I would add: to change people’s mentality, so that they would believe that the opportunities out there are also for them because they are a part of the society and therefore can access the opportunities. I would also change the CEOs’ mentality, because it’s very individualistic - I want for me, I want to make a lot of money for myself. I think that if they start thinking as a community they will think that they are a part of society as a whole. 

PN: What has been one of the highlights of your work?

Eliana: Being able to see things from a different perspective. Being more conscious about what life really means.

If we don’t open our eyes to the realities, then we will follow the system the way it is. And we believe that the system needs some changes.

Juan: For me, the work here has been a learning process, where I can leave behind all my western education that tells me where I need to go, when, and how, and understand that maybe there isn’t just one way to live your life but different ways and more human. 

PN: What advice would you give to those who want to create change in the world?

Juan: First of all, start with yourself. Be conscious and coherent. Have a dream but also follow the steps in real life. Don’t get burned out in the process. Don’t give up on your dream. 

Eliana: Persistence, patience, passion.

​Changing the world is tough but it’s worth it. If not me, then who?

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Pazamanos
Posted January 2016