Around the World with CFCA

Bob’s report: Visit to Colombia

Mission Awareness Trip
June 2008

This is our fourth Mission Awareness Trip to this country. Medellin is hosting for the next few days a meeting of the OAS—Organization of American States. Security forces abound.

In Colombia since 1983 
Ten years later (1993), Jerry Tolle and Transito Hernandez traveled from Cartagena to Medellin to inaugurate Project Antioquia. As of May 2008, the CFCA presence in the five projects in Colombia looks like this:
Children sponsored       16,160
Aging sponsored             1,668
Vocations sponsored         168
Waiting list-Colombia     1,837

Day One in Medellin
Coordinator Transito Hernandez gave us a very fine overview of Project Antioquia. The sponsored children offer the world smiles, beauty and grace in the harshness of the high neighbors of Medellin.

This project has shown us good solid programs for sponsored children, but also impressive are the programs for mothers:
1. Alphabetization, elementary and junior high equivalency—facilitated mainly by scholars and volunteers.
2. Good training by professional and dedicated teachers in livelihood projects, with over 90 percent of sponsored mothers participating. These mothers currently produce school uniforms for 32 schools.
3. Beauty shops, bakeries for all kinds of breads and cakes–also for schools and special events.
4. Dance program for mothers. 

Day Two
We visited subproject PN in La Pintada, surrounded by mountains 48 miles south of Medellin in the valley of the Cauca River. The Cauca is at flood stage as I write and 41 of our 237 sponsored families have been forced to leave their homes. Sisters serving here speak of the reality of this town of 10,000 including child labor, child abuse, pregnancies in the early teens, lack of employment opportunity, very little environmental planning and intra-family violence.

The hope quotient
The CFCA presence in La Pintada has grown little by little, with the sponsorship of boys and girls who before hung out on the street without much incentive to go to school. We now have 237 children in the program attending school and six scholars in higher education. The elderly also have a good program. Because of the CFCA sponsorship program in La Pintada, 140 elderly and 225 children enjoy a nutritious lunch every school day.

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July 2, 2008 at 1:24 pm Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (CFCA) Leave a comment