A Place That Gets Me Away from the Screen
Scroll to read the story ↓“María”, 15, lives in Palmira, Colombia. She has chosen to share her story under a pseudonym. For her, the Caimitos Sports Center is a place to get outside, spend time away from her phone and see children and other members of the community enjoying the space together.
A place that gets me outside
The Caimitos Sports Center is a place where people play football, volleyball and all kinds of sports.
I keep coming back partly because of a sense of responsibility. I committed to taking part in Vivo Mi Calle activities, but I also return because I really enjoy what happens here. I especially like watching the children play, and I know I will remember the public space activities we have had here.
Taking part has also changed something in my everyday life.
“Because of these activities, I have spent less time on my phone, gone outside more, and done more productive things away from the screen.”
I think adults experience this place differently. They often come to help – for example, distributing food during activities – while children come to play and enjoy the space.
The streets where I cannot move freely
In my neighbourhood, one of the biggest challenges is the presence of invisible borders.
This is especially difficult for us adolescents because we cannot simply walk around without worrying. Something bad could happen at any moment. It affects entire streets: we cannot go out and move around freely and peacefully. We always have to be very alert.
There are gangs associated with different neighbourhoods, which makes the situation very difficult.
“We cannot go out and move around freely and peacefully – we have to be very alert.”
I believe that people who commit murders against young people or others in the neighbourhood should be held accountable.
I wish adults and decision-makers knew that…
“Adults were raised differently. Back then, they could go out, and parenting was very different. We are no longer living in their time.”
I think this difference creates a lot of friction between adolescents and adults. Adults have already been through adolescence themselves, but the circumstances in which they grew up were different from ours.