The two Colombians that will visit Nasa this year

This coming March, thanks to an alliance between She Is and the Center for Scientific Learning and Space Exploration, 16 Colombian girls will be able to attend the NASA offices in Houston as a way to strengthen the empowerment of the female visitors. Girls from Quibdó, Putumayo, Mampuján and other regions of the country will live a five-day experience in which they will learn unique tools for their life. 

Nadia Sánchez, president of the Colombian foundation She Is, referred to this alliance: “They have the opportunity to spend five days in the NASA study center, in the learning center, where they will experience all the processes and skills of an astronaut. The beauty of this dream is that they are vulnerable girls, from remote regions in our country, this will allow them to dream and motivate hundreds of girls. ”

Yorleidy Parra (14) and Kelly Córdoba (13), two young girls from Quibdó, were chosen to be part of this selected group for their work in their communities, since both of them, one through robotics and the other one through dance, are trying to improve the living conditions of young people. 

“Being in NASA is a unique dream. Not every girl, especially from Chocó, has the opportunity to go to one of the most powerful organizations in the world. NASA has given us answers that human beings have always asked themselves. Where is this planet, what is this doing here, what is that doing there?", Córdoba told RCN Radio. 

Read also: International Day of Women and Girls in Science: why it matters

Kelly, as read on RCN, has already been in China participating in a contest of educational robotics and was part of a forum in Paraguay in which she talked about the importance of female empowerment. 

As read on ElNotiCom, Yorleidy Parra distributes her time between the Vení Cantá dance program and the robotics group. Being one of the most prominent students gave her the opportunity to be one of the travelers to NASA in March and represent Colombia in the company of the other girls. 

As read on Talento Chocoano, professor Jimmy García, leader of the Robotics Club in Quibdó said that "The USAID and ACDI / VOCA Reconciliation Partnerships Program has allowed us to strengthen ourselves in different skills, has accompanied these girls empowerment and today, through visibility, they were chosen by the She Is Foundation who, knowing their life stories, chose them to be part of this visit to NASA". 

Other girls who will be in NASA for five days are: María Marín, Yeira Navarro, Maybel Gonzales, Mariangel Polo, Luna Pérez, Luisa Toro, Laydis Maturana, Gloria Guevara, Elizabeth Villareal and Anyela Guarín.