I worked on a project where one family would give a box with food and presents to a more disadvantaged family around Christmas. The project was created by the Sodalites, a religious local community interested in helping families in need. I became involved as a volunteer in 2008, and since then I attended continuously until 2013. In 2012, I was chosen as the student leader of the group in my school. It was a very hard work because I needed to guide and motivate my friends and classmates towards social commitment.

The “Box of Love” project was developed by a team of students from my school the Colegio Colombo Británico. The families would buy empty boxes, which had the profile of a family. Each box was sold for a fixed value that was used to cover the logistical costs. In total, an average of 480 vacant boxes were sold; then, they were filled with clothing and food. Some families were very generous and would add extra christmas presents to the box.The project’s beneficiaries are families that belong to a marginal community, located in the town of Jamundí (near Cali, Colombia) in a hillside area of rice farms.

This experience helped me develop deeper leadership skills, because I not only needed to manage students who were younger, same age, and older than myself, but I was also responsible for making sure all the boxes arrived to the correct destinations. Although it was a very involved project, it was worth it. The happiness and grateful responses from the families we worked for, gave all of us a sense of fulfillment.