The Clover Foundation awarded a grant of USD 2,100,000 to five non-profit entities in Colombia in 2025 to renovate 8 cultural centers that primarily serve women. Four of those entities joined together to form the RED IMPACTO MUJER (The Women’s Impact Network) or RIM, which benefits more than 20,000 women and families throughout Colombia. One of these entities, the Antioquian Association for Culture (ASAC), operates through several cultural centers in and around Medellín. In this story, we highlight two programs that ASAC has carried out in recent years at the Citará Cultural Center: Healing of Inner Wounds, and A Coffee to Enlarge the Heart.
Seminar on Healing of Inner Wounds
When Lina Londoño decided to organize a seminar on the “Healing of Inner Wounds” for women in Medellín, she had no idea what impact this course would have. Londoño is married with two children and works as a volunteer at the Citará Cultural Center.
“We decided to look at the inner wounds of women in the Bible, both in the Old and New Testaments,” Londoño said. “The seminar focused on five specific wounds that women can experience in their lives: abandonment, rejection, humiliation, betrayal, and injustice. There is a class dedicated to discussing each wound, completing a total of five classes.”
As a nation, the vast majority of Colombians are Christian: 79% are Catholic and 17% are Protestant/Evangelical. Therefore, when Citará offered the class on “Inner Wounds” from the perspective of biblical women, people knew who was being discussed: the Samaritan woman, the widow of Nain, the woman accused of adultery, the sisters Mary and Martha, and the woman who suffered from hemorrhages for 12 years.
“It was something very beautiful and special,” said Sandra López, a 46-year-old seminar participant. “What I realized is that all of us have inner wounds, some more than others. And this will not necessarily end until the end of our lives.”
“This is very important: that you give yourself time to do this type of reflection, because all of us tend to be so busy,” noted López, who works in the fashion industry.
The seminar has seen the participation of up to 45 women, including professional women, homemakers, married women, and single women. This seminar was also offered last year in La Ceja, a municipality in the department of Antioquia, Colombia.
The seminar concluded with a Spiritual Retreat course held at the GUAYCORAL convention center in the municipality of La Ceja, Antioquia.
“So many women wanted to go to confession that we had to open a logbook and create a schedule to be seen by the priest who led the retreat course,” commented Londoño.
For López, the seminar and the retreat course were a surprising gift because, “We were able to bring everything we learned into our daily lives,” she stated.
Seminar for Professional Women: A Coffee for the Enlargement of the Heart
Citará also offers a seminar for executive women aged 28 to 48. They meet on the third Friday of each month for two hours. Guest speakers are invited to teach on topics such as technology, politics, human rights, sustainability, family values, and religion, among others. The seminar has been running for three years and has 120 participants.
“This is a module on leadership in the family, work, and society,” commented Estela Pereira Higuita, an industrial engineer who helped organize this seminar. In the past, Pereira worked for 5 years with RIM.
María Nelly Porras is a participant in this seminar, as well as a speaker for the session on artificial intelligence. She is a partner in AI strategy, governance, and growth, as well as an international speaker with more than 30 years of experience. She is also the mother of three grown children.
“I joined this group by participating in the seminar two years ago. I also attended a spiritual retreat that was offered through it,” related Porras. “Because of my background in engineering and science, I developed a class on how to educate parents on the topic of artificial intelligence. I am also working to promote the message of the Theology of the Body.”
The fact that Pope Leo XIV just released an encyclical on artificial intelligence makes this class highly relevant.
“These are all topics that I am passionate about,” expressed Porras.
Many of the women who participate are high-level executives in Colombian society: judges, scientific directors, business executives, and medical doctors.
“Many struggle with the issue of feeling like they have to be a ‘superwoman’: excellent at their job, running the perfect household, perfect wives and mothers, and staying fit. It can be very stressful,” said Maria Adelaida Martinez, executive director of ASAC.
However, for the participants, one of the aspects they love most about the seminar is the friendships they are building. They also appreciate the space they are taking to nurture their own interior lives.
“I have made many friends. It is a beautiful group,” said Porras. “Through this seminar, I came to realize that God can use my talents to help others.”
Through the training programs provided by the organizations that make up the RED IMPACTO MUJER, Colombian women feel supported and strengthened to face the challenges they encounter every day at work, in the family, and in society, thereby contributing to the building up of a better society.