On a recent chilly morning, about a dozen women and one man have gathered in a large room in Bogotá. The big windows on one side of the room look out at a neighborhood nestled in the slopes of the Andes mountains.
The people in the room are here for a weekly dance lesson. Over the next hour, they follow the instructor’s directions, moving in two lines with slow rhythmic steps, dancing to the beats of a traditional Colombian folk music called Cumbia.
The class is one of the free services offered to anyone in the neighborhood who is an unpaid caregiver for their family, part of a groundbreaking city-led program rolled out in 2020 called Manzanas del Cuidado, or Care Blocks. Each block provides a set of services, including wellness and professional training, within a short walk of residents in neighboring areas. The program is trying to ease the often invisible burdens on Bogotá’s family caregivers – the vast majority of whom are women – and help them pursue their own interests, including education and finding paid jobs.
The caregivers smile and chat as they dance, helping one another when someone falters in the middle of a sequence. Some are neighbors and friends, others have gotten to know each other through activities at this center or “care block” – one of 20 now scattered across Bogotá.
When the dance class ends, most participants stay on for a cardio class. This time, they work up a sweat, moving their arms and legs to booming beats that fill the room.
Ruth Infante, 42, is a single mother of three who has been coming to this care block for a year. Wearing a brightly colored shirt, black jeans, blue sneakers and glasses with big black frames, Infante is clearly enjoying herself, smiling and chatting with others during breaks.
“I take advantage of the time when my [9-year-old] daughter is at school to dedicate some time to myself,” says Infante, catching her breath at the end of class.
It’s her only chance to exercise and meet other caregivers…
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