With the purpose of providing quality education and guaranteeing decent conditions for the children in Aracataca, Magdalena, as they go back to school, Drummond, together with the Office of the Municipal Mayor, worked to restore the Tercera de Niñas campus of the Gabriel Garcia Marquez School, a project that will benefit around 300 children.
The restructuring done during the pandemic will give students four classrooms and a computer room at the campus located near the corridor of the railroad that transports Drummond’s coal.
“The community at the Gabriel Garcia Marquez School is pleased and very grateful for this joint work by Drummond and the municipal Mayor. It’s a huge change, and is very important for our children, parents, and teachers, because it provides an environment where students can develop their skills,” emphasized Ulises Niño, the principal of the Gabriel Garcia Marquez School, during the inauguration ceremony.
The Tercera de Niñas campus is an elementary school that will serve the children in urban and rural areas of Aracataca. The restoration will not only meet the physical conditions required for providing a quality education, but will guarantee conditions for returning to the classroom by making biosafety protocols and measures viable. This will facilitate access to education for many children who lack the tools and Internet services necessary to receive an online education.
Luis Emilio Correa, Mayor of Aracataca, emphasized during the event: “It gives us great satisfaction to see these partnerships formed between private enterprise and the administration, producing this significant work that will give our children a decent place to learn.”
The Mayor of Aracataca also stated that the work to remodel the classrooms and computer room was completed in 60 days, inaugurating the facilities on August 24, 2021.
At the inauguration ceremony, Community Relations Coordinator at Drummond Ltd., Alvaro Daza, added, “Despite all the impediments we faced with the pandemic, we refused to stop, and we did everything necessary to make this project a reality. Community development is very important to us. Young people need optimum conditions, and what could be better than these classrooms with all the comforts that will allow them to learn? Drummond consistently invests in education to not only improve physical infrastructure, but also the quality of education.”
Under its Comprehensive Development pillar, Drummond continuously invests in education. This is seen not only in works like this one that have been completed in different schools in its area of influence in the Departments of Cesar and Magdalena, but also in the Drummond program to award scholarships each year.
José David Guerra, a former student of the Gabriel Garcia Marquez School and Drummond Scholarship Winner 2020, spoke at the event, stating, “I went to grade school at this campus. I feel happy when I remember those times, and it gives me great nostalgia. The campus has changed drastically thanks to Drummond and the office of the Mayor. As students, the environment where we learn is very important for our academic development. Thank you, Drummond. Thank you so much for thinking about our children. I know they will end up being good students and future scholarship winners.”
Drummond is keenly aware of the positive impact of a good education on a region’s progress. That’s why it is steadfast in its commitment to exercise its social responsibility by contributing to the quality of education, joining forces with the institutions in charge of improving education.
