For two and a half years, volunteers from the two New Acropolis centres in Medellín have been accompanying a group of young people from the Nueva Jerusalén settlement, the largest territory for displaced persons in Colombia. This work is carried out in collaboration with a local foundation that protects children, guarantees food for hundreds of children and promotes safe spaces for education, with the fundamental requirement that minors attend school.

In this context, the training programme ‘The Hero’s Journey’ has emerged, a philosophical and experiential approach that inspires young people to get to know themselves, improve themselves and become positive role models for their community.

At the most recent meeting, held in July, the young people continued with the hero’s preparation stage, one of the key moments in this journey of inner transformation. The workshop focused on the exercise of masks, a powerful dynamic that invited them to look inward and recognise the roles they often adopt in their daily lives: the strong, the aggressive, the apathetic, the funny, the explosive, the passive… Masks that have often served as a form of protection against pain, but which also hide their true essence.

These young warriors are learning to look at themselves honestly, to recognise both their strengths and weaknesses. Only then will they be able to move forward with greater clarity towards the challenges that life presents them with. In the next session, they will begin to explore limiting beliefs, another crucial step in breaking internal chains and opening up new possibilities.

At New Acropolis, we remain convinced that true revolution begins within each human being. And these young people, with their courage, dedication and desire to grow, are already an example of this.