Eyes on Africa

For over fifteen years, the university has been forging collaborative ties with Africa. What began as individual efforts by faculty and connections with Chilean priests on mission in countries like Kenya and Chad has evolved into a broader, institutionally-backed commitment. 

UC Chile President Ignacio Sánchez (2010–2025) explains: “The university is deeply committed to public service—not only within our own society but beyond our borders, especially in regions with urgent needs where we can truly make a difference. That’s why we’re proud to contribute to the building of a rural model school in Kenya and to support various projects through the Chile-Africa Foundation, the work of Father Alejandro Ruiz, and the many initiatives led by our faculty, with the support of the Office of the Vice President of International Affairs.”

He adds, “Turning our attention to Africa means engaging with a continent that is often overlooked. It allows us to share our knowledge and skills while also learning from a culture that reminds us of the value and simplicity of life.” 

Missionary Work in Kenya 

In 2008, Father Alejandro Ruiz, a Chilean priest, from the Sons of Divine Providence—an order founded by Father Orione—set out for Kenya as a missionary. His mission: to oversee a small center for children with physical and/or intellectual disabilities in a remote village. “I had experience from working at Pequeño Cottolengo in Cerrillos, where I cared for children with similar conditions,” he explains. He was driven by a deep commitment to advocating for the rights of people with intellectual disabilities, “who are often overlooked or left behind.” 

What struck him most about Kenya was its culture and the way people there perceive the world—how they think about suffering, progress, and even time itself. During those early months, he focused on observing, listening, and doing humble work to gain a deeper understanding. “I wanted to figure out how I could be of real help. Often we arrive with our own preconceived ideas of what a community needs, but those ideas may not align with their realities or expectations.” He notes that many institutions and volunteers come to Africa with good intentions, but on their own terms and timelines—an approach that often fails to connect with the local communities.

Over time, under Father Ruiz’s leadership, the center grew into a full-fledged school offering comprehensive care. It now focuses on three main areas: education, rehabilitation, and vocational training. In 2015, the congregation opened a second center near Nairobi, the capital, making logistics significantly easier. They also started a community garden to help with food supplies and create job opportunities.

In 2022, UC Chile President Ignacio Sánchez (2010–2025) signed a collaboration agreement with Father Ruiz, paving the way for members of the university community to volunteer in Kenya. Their work has centered on special education, rehabilitation, therapy, and vocational training programs designed to support children and youth with intellectual disabilities.

 

In February 2024, Father Ruiz was reassigned to Nyatorera, a village about 600 kilometers from the capital. Nestled near Lake Victoria and close to the Ugandan border, the village is two and a half hours by car from the nearest city, Kisumu. It’s a rural area where most people belong to the Luo ethnic group—the same as the father of former U.S. President Barack Obama. “In fact, Obama’s grandmother lived in this village until just a few years ago, when she passed away,” says Father Ruiz. At the time of his arrival, the village had only basic infrastructure: a parish and a school that served 200 students—a number that had grown to 300 by the end of 2024—and a team of 15 teachers. 

Collaboration from Chile 

A group of Chileans who had supported Father Alejandro Ruiz’s work in Kenya for several years decided to formalize their involvement. Their goal was to build a lasting bridge between Chile and Africa. This led to the creation of the Chile-Africa Foundation, officially established in March 2024. 

“More than 70% of Kenya’s population lives in rural areas, yet the quality of education in these regions often falls short compared to urban centers. As a result, many families move to cities in search of better opportunities,” explains former senator and minister Hernán Larraín, who now serves as president of the Chile-Africa Foundation. “That’s why we believed it wasn’t enough to simply create a school—we needed to design a model that could inspire similar efforts in other rural areas and help retain talent in remote communities.”

“Our vision is to support the development of a school with solid infrastructure, proper equipment, and a strong educational model—one that influences teachers and is built collaboratively with the local community, including families and school staff,” Larraín adds. “If everything goes as planned, we want people to feel that this is their school. While we may contribute financially or with professional expertise, the project ultimately belongs to the community. That’s what gives it long-term relevance and sustainability.” 

The idea of signing a partnership with the university came out of the need for academic guidance in developing the project. That agreement was formalized in December 2024, championed by UC Chile President Ignacio Sánchez (2010–2025), who also serves on the foundation’s board. Other board members include attorney Enrique Alcalde, former Supreme Court Justice María Eugenia Sandoval, and cultural manager Soledad Silva. Together, they assembled a team of academic experts to lend their technical knowledge to the initiative “A School for Kenya,” coordinated by Fernando Valenzuela.

On the infrastructure side, faculty members from UC’s School of Civil Construction are contributing their expertise, led by former school director Pablo Maturana—who previously headed the construction of a school in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.  The team is currently working on defining construction types and materials to develop a preliminary design that will guide future fundraising. But as Maturana emphasizes, the most important thing is that “the school reflects the identity of the local community. It needs to foster a sense of ownership. Without that, the school won’t succeed.”

Meanwhile, the Faculty of Education has also joined the effort. As Professor Guillermo Zamora explains, their role is to support the educational design of the new facility. “We want to contribute to how the physical spaces are conceived—not just putting up walls, but recognizing that the layout itself plays a role in learning.” 

He adds, “The learning environment acts as an educator too—it shapes relationships, fosters unity or division, and can either support or hinder the learning process. A school isn’t just a place for classes; it becomes a central hub for community life.” 

At this early stage, the Faculty of Education is focused on identifying where it can add the most value. Rather than imposing a new curriculum, the goal is to “create pedagogical conditions that enhance the learning outcomes of existing programs,” Zamora concludes.

A South-South Cooperation Perspective 

This collaboration is part of a broader academic and social commitment that UC has maintained with Africa for some time. As Lilian Ferrer—Vice President of International Affairs (2020–2025)—explains, “We promote South-South cooperation initiatives (among countries in the Global South), because we believe that these experiences of global collaboration allow us to learn from one another, enrich our cultures, and work together to promote sustainable development and community well-being.”

That vision is at the heart of the Santander Mobility Program for Professors, an initiative of the Office of the Vice President of International Affairs (VRAI) in partnership with Banco Santander. The program aims to share up-to-date knowledge and new methods with communities through South-South cooperation between UC Chile and international partners such as NGOs, governments, businesses, and cultural or religious organizations.

In 2023, two professors were awarded grants through this program to carry out academic activities in Kenya. One of them was José Luis Riveros, a professor from the Department of Animal Sciences in the Faculty of Agricultural and Natural Systems. He worked on food security initiatives on the outskirts of Nairobi and within the rural Maasai community, located 200 kilometers from the city. His project focused on strengthening a local center through agricultural training, with the goal of improving food security and supporting household economies by diversifying diets and introducing socially appropriate technologies. Riveros brought his previous experience from Mozambique, where he researched ways to enhance goat milk production for dairy products to improve child nutrition in rural communities.

The second grantee was Ricardo Campos, a kinesiologist and neuro physical therapist from the Health Sciences Department. He conducted a needs assessment to support rehabilitation staff caring for children with disabilities at the Don Orione Center. His work centered on training the rehabilitation team and promoting interdisciplinary collaboration in the care of children with disabilities. In June 2024, continuing this effort, Campos and colleagues from his department led the workshop “Key Topics in Neurological Rehabilitation,” attended by 13 professionals from the center, nearby hospitals, and independent practitioners. 

In 2025, three more Health Sciences faculty members - Bernardita Severin (Speech Therapy), Carolina Tirado (Physical Therapy) and Andrés Sánchez (Occupational Therapy) - will travel to the Don Orione Center alongside Campos, to further this initiative. Their trip is made possible by the International Engagement and Global Collaboration Contest (second edition of the “Santander Teacher Mobility Program” scholarship contest). The team will conduct training workshops for medical staff, provide care for children with disabilities, and carry out outreach activities in partnership with the University of Nairobi.

“This is a shared project that seeks to approach the needs of children and adolescents at the center through an interdisciplinary lens,” says Campos. “It’s an ambitious program, aiming to accomplish as much as possible in just three weeks—based on the needs identified by the center’s staff during regular online meetings with UC Chile faculty.” 

Campos also mentions plans to visit surrounding communities: “The first time I went, I had the opportunity to visit the Maasai community. It's fascinating to find ways we can offer support while honoring and respecting their cultural differences. There may be children there who have limited access to healthcare or face other challenges, and we can help—together with the local teams,” he says.

Cristian Diaz, Director of Global Mobility at VRAI, explains: “When we began shaping our social engagement strategy, our first step was to connect with units already involved in international cooperation.  Our goal was to complement, amplify, and scale development projects with a shared purpose: to exchange knowledge across communities. The outcomes of these efforts aim to contribute to global well-being. In this context, Africa has become a strategic partner. It is not only a vital ‘social laboratory,’ but we also share many challenges—such as demographic shifts, climate change, and intercultural understanding. Working together helps us face these realities and pursue sustainable solutions.”

Improving Living Conditions in Chad

For the past fifteen years, the UC Chile School of Medicine has been engaged in Chad—a country located in the heart of Africa, home to more than 18 million people and ranked among the world’s poorest (189th out of 193 in the 2023 Human Development Index).

In a country with barely a thousand doctors and a growing population—exacerbated by migration from neighboring Sudan due to ongoing conflict—the involvement of over one hundred medical professionals, residents, and students from various Chilean universities in healthcare missions and hospital work is highly significant. These efforts are carried out in close partnership with local collaborators, making it a deeply integrated initiative. A new mission is scheduled for April–May 2025.

The story began when anesthesiologist and UC Chile professor Rodrigo López developed a training program for healthcare professionals in Chad, inspired by Leopoldo Labrín—a Chilean Jesuit priest and doctor who has lived there since 1992.  This marked the beginning of a collaborative effort involving UC, Universidad de Chile, and the University Hospital Complex of the Good Samaritan (CHU-BS).

The project aims to:  

• Build a network of specialized professionals who can return to Chad to strengthen the local healthcare system.  
• Train healthcare personnel to improve patient care competencies.  
• Conduct healthcare missions to provide direct care to the local population. 
• Promote experiential learning for Chilean students in areas with specific needs.  

Since then, the initiative has led to a series of reciprocal visits, medical missions, academic courses, and joint research. 

In 2021, UC Chile signed a memorandum of understanding with Caritas-AURA during a university delegation visit led by Vice President Lilian Ferrer. The agreement sought to broaden the scope of collaboration beyond healthcare to include education, sustainable agriculture, and interreligious dialogue. It also promotes research, knowledge creation, and academic exchanges.

During that visit, José Luis Riveros, from theFaculty of Agricultural and Natural Systems, identified a key challenge: ensuring a reliable water supply for crops. The team explored the potential for implementing a water capture and storage system—a concrete example of technology transfer from UC Chile in action.

In 2023, under the Santander Teacher Mobility Program, Maili Ow from the Faculty of Education conducted combined educational-healthcare missions in partnership with Dr. Ibrahim Makkai from Mongo Hospital in Chad. Professor Ow noted that the local school system suffers from deep-rooted challenges, comparable in infrastructure and pedagogical capacity to Chile’s schools in the 1940s. The goal of the project is to provide health and education guidelines that support the healthy and well-rounded development of children, while respecting their customs and culture. The team works closely with five family clans in the area, conducting visits to carry out child health checkups and promote school enrollment through engagement and motivational activities. 

That same year, education students Mariana Zeballos and Isidora Fernández traveled to Chad to participate in academic activities through the Pallqa Cooperation and Leadership in an International Context program. This initiative encourages students to support regional development in collaboration with NGOs rooted in local communities around the globe. In 2024, Religious Education student Bernardita Pérez also participated in the program.

Santiago Besa, who began participating in health missions in 2016 and has coordinated the project since early 2024, notes that while the missions have been successful, the current focus is shifting toward a more advanced stage: specialized training for physicians, such as developing endoscopic surgery skills. 

As former Vice President Ferrer concludes: “The relationship between UC Chile and Africa is essential for building a strong and enriching global community. It offers us the chance to learn from grassroots work and encourages the creation of inclusive, welcoming spaces. Through the training of our professionals, we aim to contribute to the development of a continent that is ready to advance and become an active partner in international cooperation.”