A bridge called Node: stories from the university house
From Pijao to university without housing deciding who studies — the stories of Mayerly, Esteban and the young people of the Pijao Node.
For a young person from the rural villages of Pijao, the distance to university is not measured in kilometres: it is measured in rent, groceries and bus fares their family cannot afford. The Pijao Node exists to shorten exactly that distance.
The student house in Armenia today supports around 30 students per semester, and together with the scholarship programme it has awarded 18 university scholarships (as of May 2026). These are two of its stories:
Mayerly Mesa Mejía came to the Node from Pijao and became the Foundation’s first volunteer. Today she is a lawyer who graduated with honours from the University of Quindío and the first recipient of a postgraduate scholarship. “My story is not just about me,” she says. “It is about all of us who come from underserved communities and dare to dream.”
Esteban Rengifo Cuervo studies Medicine and gives part of his time to the Foundation’s Elderly Support programme, visiting Pijao’s grandparents. “Loneliness is often the mother of their suffering,” he says. “They need someone to listen to them, even if only for a moment.”
The Node has also produced ventures — like its scholars’ 3D-printing projects, exploring industry 4.0 from a student house in the Coffee Region.
The circle that makes us proudest is this one: receive support, graduate, give back. Many of the Foundation’s volunteers are former scholars. The bridge stands because those who crossed it come back to lend a hand.