The Teresita Ramírez Popular Education Center is a work of the Company of Mary Our Lady that, for more than three decades, has accompanied the life, education and hope of the community of Villa Santana, in Pereira. Inspired by the charism of Saint Jeanne de Lestonnac, the Center develops educational, social and pastoral processes that promote the integral development of children, young people, adults and families, strengthening their capacities and generating opportunities to build a life project with dignity.

The presence of the Company of Mary in Villa Santana arises as a response to the needs of a community made up of families from different municipalities of Risaralda, marked by deep social vulnerabilities and by the desire to access an education that would transform the reality of its inhabitants. With a close, compassionate and committed gaze, the sisters took on the challenge of accompanying these processes in education, convinced that each person has talents and abilities that deserve to be discovered and strengthened.

In this context, the Teresita Ramírez Popular Education Center was born, a work inspired by the pedagogy of care and dedicated to offering spaces for formation, accompaniment and human promotion. Its name honors the memory of Teresita Ramírez, a religious of the Company of Mary who gave her life in the service of the Gospel and was murdered in front of her students in Cristales, Antioquia. Her testimony of faith, simplicity, closeness and commitment to the most vulnerable continues to inspire the mission of the Center and the daily work of those who are part of this work.

Teresita Ramírez, of peasant origin, entered religious life at the age of 17 and dedicated her mission to the communities of greatest need. During her pastoral service in Barranquilla, she was known as the “Chévere (Cool) Sister”, a recognition born of the affection of the community for her joy, dedication, simplicity and deep trust in the liberating message of the Gospel. Today, her legacy remains alive in every educational, human and pastoral process that the Center develops.

Since its opening on July 23, 1993, the Center has been a space for meeting, learning and hope. Its origin dates back to 1992, when it began the construction of its first facilities for a library, a kindergarten and workshops for the promotion of women, thanks to a solidarity initiative promoted by the students of the Colegio La Enseñanza through recycling campaigns. Throughout its history, the Niña María Kindergarten also operated, which until 2008 provided comprehensive care to children between two and four years of age.

Currently, the Center continues to respond to the needs of the community through educational, formative, and accompaniment processes that strengthen family and community life. Its programs include the accompaniment of children, young people, and adults, as well as spaces for artistic training in music and dance, sports and recreational activities, personal growth workshops, and processes aimed at strengthening life skills, always inspired by the values of the Gospel and the pedagogy of the Company of Mary.

As part of its commitment to the comprehensive care of people, the Center offers psychological care and develops accompaniment processes in alliance with the Renovando Corazones (Renewing Hearts) Foundation, promoting paths of healing, well-being and hope for people and their families.

The educational work is complemented by various spaces designed to promote learning and coexistence, including a library, playroom, playground, virtual room and reading room, which strengthen the academic, cultural and recreational development of the community.

The Center also works in coordination with different institutions to expand the training and development opportunities of its beneficiaries. Among these alliances are the children’s breakfast and nutritional recovery programs with the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare (ICBF), training processes in arts and crafts, technical and technological training in agreement with SENA, the accompaniment of the New Dawning Vocational Youth Ministry, art, humanism and spirituality initiatives, film club, programs for the promotion of peace and coexistence, dance processes and guitar training in alliance with the Christian Youth Association (ACJ-YMCA).

The mission of the Center expresses the evangelizing commitment of the Company of Mary to the most vulnerable people and communities. Inspired by the charism of Saint Jeanne de Lestonnac and the following of Jesus, it seeks to generate educational processes that allow each person, group and community to strengthen their dignity, develop their capacities and potentialities, and contribute to the construction of a more just, inclusive, participatory, supportive and peace-promoting society.

Its vision reaffirms the commitment of the Company of Mary to an evangelizing educational proposal that recognizes each person as the protagonist of his or her own development. From this perspective, the Center promotes the care of life and the environment, the defense of human rights, equity, intercultural and interreligious dialogue and joint work with other organizations to transform society based on the values of the Gospel.

After more than thirty years of service, the Teresita Ramírez Popular Education Center continues to be a sign of hope for the community of Villa Santana. Its presence keeps alive the mission of the Company of Mary to educate, accompany and transform lives, sowing opportunities where they are most needed and keeping the flame of solidarity, education and faith burning.

Contact Us

Teresita Ramírez Popular Education Center
Block 36, House 6 New Villa Santana Plan – Barrio Santana, Pereira, Risaralda – Colombia
Coordinator: Luis Germán Ruíz Calle
Telephones: (+57) 311 764 2004 – (+57) 313 729 8677
Email: german.ruiz@cdm.edu.co
Blog: https://teresita-ramirez.blogspot.com/