<p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Ati and Mindhiva, two young sisters of the Arhuacan ethnicity, IKU culture, located in the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta, Colombia; a mountain range starting at sea level and reaching an altitude of 5.775 meters at its highest, snow-covered peaks.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Their mother did not want any of their children to miss the opportunity of learning to read and write, even if this meant sending them far from home.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Mindiwa left for Santa Marta at age twelve .Ati left at age ten .</p> <p>The first barrier they overcame was the language, as they spoke &#39;Iku&#39; in the Sierra. They completed public-school secondary education. The best education is still at private schools&hellip;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Ati wants to be dentist. She realizes the lack at the Sierra and feels that&rsquo;s her calling. Mindiwa wishes she could study medicine, go back to her community, and use the ancestral knowledge together with Western medicine.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Their traditional names were given to them at birth by the elders and carry the meaning of the mission they will accomplish in life.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Ati means mother creator, feminine force, and fertile land. Mindiwa means healer. Their parents are descendants of the &ldquo;Mamos.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Ati and Mindiwa were registered officially as Ana Milena Villafa&ntilde;a and Judith Margarita Villafa&ntilde;a.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>The great-grandfather was the son of a Spanish man and an Arahuacan mother. He joined the Arahuacan culture, prospered financially, and became a Mamo. He also left many offspring.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>The indigenous town councils receive government aid for education, but scholarships go mainly to males.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>What they have managed so far has been on their own.</p> <p>&nbsp;Their priority has been to prepare to for admission into the country&#39;s major university&mdash;the Universidad Nacional.</p> <p>Ati and Mindhiva try but neither of them obtains the necessary scores.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Their disappointment is huge. They go back to the Sierra to consult the &ldquo;Mamos,&rdquo; and undergo a spiritual cleansing in order to regain their strength.</p> <p>The family clan is close-knit, full of love and respectful of the environment.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>In the city, they look at new learning options. They give classes in ancestral weaving to support themselves.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>With determination, they will look for other ways to get an education .</p> <p>Admission to a private university has one requirement&mdash;passing the ICFES, a standardized test.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>They prepare to take the ICFES again to raise their scores.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Mindhiva had applied to study medicine in Cuba, but nothing had come of it. Suddenly she receives a call with the news that the Escuela Internacional de Medicina has accepted her. She leaves for Cuba in a rush with no time for goodbyes to her parents.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Ati stays and takes the ICFES exam again. She gets a high score and spends her time applying to private universities, weaving traditional backpacks, and trying to get&nbsp; help for minority groups.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>At the same time, she attends the Neijing school of Chinese medicine, with which she can identify because of the parallels she finds between Arahuacan and Chinese medicine.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Ati goes back to Kariumaku .He is the great blind Mamo who has been her guide since childhood.</p> <p>Hope and disappointment have shadowed her, but her walk forward shows us that she will not crumble.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Mindhiva comes back from Cuba and tells us about her experience.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Ati is admitted to the University del Bosque.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>The Mamos continue to be the highest authorities of the Sierra. They are consulted on the ways to follow. Their therapeutic function can be compared to Western psychoanalysis. They are involved in physical and mental healing.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Mindhiva shares her experiences with her relatives. Walks the Sierra and goes to consult her guide, her uncle Mamo Enrique.</p> <p>She tells us: &ldquo;I have to stay firm, like a tree in the middle of a hurricane. I have to be flexible, but not allow them to uproot me&#39;.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>We say goodbye to the Villafa&ntilde;as with the feeling that we have received a very great gift.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>