Isaleimi Quiguapumbo, who became the first indigenous woman to win a grant from the Carolina Foundation, shares her experience and invites us to participate in these calls to study abroad and contribute to the improvement of the quality of life in our territories.
Born in the Páez de Corinto shelter, in the North of Cauca, graduated from the Geography program at the Universidad del Cauca in Colombia, with honorable mentions for her academic performance, she was the winner of one of the grants by the Carolina Foundation to carry out her studies of Master in Natural Risk Planning and Management at the University of Alicante, Spain.
All her academic training has carried out in public institutions, which is why, for her, education is the tool to change the world and to "leave an inheritance where indigenous youth feel proud."
The winner of the scholarship, shared her experience with the students of the Indigenous Cabildo of Higher Education taPopayán, CIDES, with special emphasis on motivating indigenous students to present themselves to these calls to acquire new knowledge that can later be applied in the territories of origin.
Among the dialogue, reflections arose around the opportunities offered by government entities for the education of young people, and it was concluded that spaces should be opened where the indigenous people of the department of Cauca to improve access to higher education (postgraduate) .
He added that scholarships should provide more opportunities for indigenous women to demonstrate knowledge and contribute to planning and decision making in the territory.
Finally, Isaleimi invited young indigenous students to be proud of their identity:
"Let us be proud of our slanted eyes, of this tan color, of long black hair; with effort and dedication everything is possible"