Solidarity dinner for those studying at the first technical career center for young people with disabilities: its creator overcame cerebral palsy

"She has a disability. She has no arms and studies artificial intelligence. She is blind and studies English. He has a physical disability and cannot walk. He also studies English. But they are eager to succeed and study, and you can support them at the Solidarity Dinner of the first university in Latin America for young people with disabilities."

This is part of a video that invites citizens to join a campaign for young people whose desire to progress goes beyond any limit.

This November 13th, the Dann Carlton Hotel in Cali will host the Heroes Solidarity Dinner , an event to raise funds for educational scholarships for young people with disabilities from vulnerable areas of the Aguablanca District, in socioeconomic levels 1 and 2. It will begin at 7:00 pm.

Currently, the technical career center offers baking, pastry, carpentry, leatherwork, dressmaking, graphic design, printing, languages, and artificial intelligence.

The initiative is led by the Jeison Aristizábal Foundation, an organization that for more than 25 years has transformed the lives of more than 1,000 children and young people with disabilities in Cali, offering them education, rehabilitation and comprehensive training.

Jeison Aristizábal founded the Association of the Disabled of the Valley (Asodisvalle) over 20 years ago, which later became the Jeison Aristizábal Asodisvalle Foundation, in the Ricardo Balcázar neighborhood. It is a neighborhood of humble families.

CNN awarded him the Hero award in 2016, among 25 candidates, a distinction that highlighted the exceptional contributions of those on the continent who make a difference with their humanitarian work.

According to Aristizábal, the foundation is currently expanding its horizons with the creation of a university offering technical and professional degree programs in areas such as technology, English, baking, sewing, 3D design, printing, among others, with the purpose of enabling each young person to develop a dignified and self-sustaining life project.

The Solidarity Dinner will be an evening where solidarity, joy and hope will unite for a common cause.

The event will feature the participation of companies from the region, prominent personalities and invited celebrities, as well as a live show, raffles, auctions, prizes and gifts that will make the evening an unforgettable experience.

Each attendee will be a hero, helping a young person with a disability access education and build their future. Those interested in participating in this social impact initiative can call 317 403 6190.

Buying a place at the dinner.

Acquiring a complete table to share with your team or family.

By sponsoring with your company or brand, you support the cause with social visibility.

By making a voluntary contribution, you can help us reach a scholarship that will change a life.

It was in 2023 that Jeison Aristizábal announced that Cali would have the first university for people with disabilities in Latin America. He said at the time that more than 300 young people with different disabilities from eastern Cali would be trained in technical education and job training programs.

The Jeison Aristizábal Foundation's technical programs university project was launched in August 2020 with an estimated cost of $850,000.

It is a building of approximately 1,100 square meters; it should be noted that artists helped in previous years in the construction of a rehabilitation center, which was inaugurated in 2019.

Companies and entities such as Constructora Bolívar, Argos, Sidoc, SIKA, Sloan, Tecnoglass, and other donors joined this initiative.

"The project seeks to encourage labor inclusion in Colombia, improving the quality of life of the country's population with disabilities; this educational model improves access to technical and higher education for this population," said Aristizábal.

The educational center was initially designed to offer programs in baking, pastry making, carpentry, leatherwork, dressmaking, design, and printing. It also includes a language center and an artificial intelligence center to provide training in programming and systems.

He was a boy born with cerebral palsy and a hip malformation. He couldn't maintain his balance while walking and underwent painful surgeries on his feet to have plates and screws inserted. But he refused to be confined to a wheelchair.

That boy also ignored the phrase that a doctor told his mother: his physical condition would only allow him to be a shoeshiner.

“The doctor said I was not going to be good for anything, only for shoe polishing because my disability was very severe,” says Jeison Aristizábal, who studied Law, because, he says, he is concerned about the rights of children with disabilities.

Asodisvalle was created as a foundation for children with physical limitations, with the goal of having the people of Cali support them with free treatments and formal education.

Aristizábal has also managed to get university physiotherapy students involved in his initiative. And more than 20 years ago, he created a shoe bank so that poor children throughout Cali could have footwear.

That's not all, today he is in charge of the Porfirio Barba Jacob school, donated by a religious community in Ricardo Balcázar.

His perseverance, which he had at age 12 when he learned to ride a bicycle and which allowed him to walk without falling, led to his cause being recognized in the United States, winning the CNN award, which labeled him a hero.

That work began when he was 17, when he helped his first homeless child. The child was 8 years old and needed a wheelchair.

The cerebral palsy—which only affected her motor skills and speech—is due to the fact that at the time of her birth, the midwife, in an attempt to save her life and that of her mother, María Emilia Aristizábal, allegedly pulled on her legs because she was born breech, causing permanent damage to her hip. The rushed delivery may also have reduced the amount of oxygen reaching her brain.

It is a story of overcoming adversity, the third of a family of four children.

“I persisted, persisted, and persisted in riding my bike. It was difficult. I would go out every afternoon, and my mom would put two sweaters and jeans on me, supposedly to cushion the falls because I was always falling. I wanted to be able to do it on my own,” Jeison recalls.

All that stubbornness led him to receive recognitions, such as the Knight's Cross from the Congress of the Republic.

He has been a speaker in Miami (United States), Lima (Peru) and Quito (Ecuador) and Mexico.

“One secret is helping others. Another is being grateful for what you have, and the third is never losing the ability to dream,” he explained, when referring to the three secrets to being happy, the subject of his lectures in the country and abroad.

Those who support him recognize that his life is a miracle and that his work has made him a hero to children and now to young people and adults with disabilities who seek technical education in an institution that opens up a panorama in their lives towards university and work.

EL TIEMPO Correspondent