The next volunteer events will take place in Antioquia, Magdalena, Valle del Cauca, and Caquetá. Vamos Colombia has led volunteer projects in Chocó and Tolima. – Eduardo Mora Galindo, a volunteer with Vamos Colombia Eduardo Mora Galindo spent five days volunteering in the post-conflict state of southern Tolima.Įduardo left his busy office in Bogotá and traveled eight hours by bus to the Andean region of southern Tolima, an area he may have never visited otherwise.įor participants like Eduardo, these peace-building projects not only teach about life outside major cities, but also illustrate what the often-abstract idea of reconciliation looks like for areas marginalized by armed conflict. I want to learn about their circumstances, their reality.” “Here in the city, I have not had to experience the misery, suffering, and pain that many Colombian families have had to go through. Volunteers-like Eduardo Mora Galindo, a corporate manager for the IT company Grupo ASD-traded in their laptops and business attire for shovels and boots. Now, 500 Vamos Colombia volunteers, all public and private sector employees, have visited the southern Tolima town to participate in five days of low-tech, high-impact community development projects based on local needs. Previously, association with the FARC kept public and private development projects out of Cañon de las Hermosas. To do so, Vamos Colombia urges the private sector to take the first step toward reconciliation. Vamos Colombia, a campaign supported by ACDI/VOCA’s USAID-funded Program of Alliances for Reconciliation (PAR) initiative, aims to narrow that divide by supporting projects that cultivate understanding and respect between polarized groups. As its rural populations suffer disproportionally from clashes among armed groups, the divide between rural and urban areas grows. Until recently, it was also a longtime stronghold of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).Ĭolombia’s armed conflict has left the country divided across many lines-politically, economically, and not least, geographically. Cañon de las Hermosas is a small, rural town tucked in the Andes, rich with wildlife and located several hours from any paved roads.
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