Colombia - An Awakening

September 22, 2007

Dear family, friends and supporters of HBI,

I just ended a whirlwind trip to Colombia – specifically my trip was to the Caribbean city of Barranquilla (for more information about this fascinating “hidden gem” of a city, please see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barranquilla); and, I must admit – I am a bit disappointed.

Let me explain - Colombia is an absolutely fascinating country. There is so much prosperity and strategic economic development – it seems like it should be a model for socioeconomic development for Latin America. Colombian’s have a thriving middle class and a very rich history of intellectual, artistic and cultural pursuits. At this point you are probably bracing yourself for the “but” part of my statement – well . . . please don’t get me wrong, I really enjoy visiting Colombia. In fact, I count Bogotá as one of my absolute favorite cities in the whole world. I love the Colombian people – they are sophisticated, urbane and very generous.

My issue is not with any one person or group of people, or any country for that matter – it is with the societal structures that allow abject poverty and disenfranchisement to continue in our modern age. You see, my disappointment is rooted in the number of people that I witnessed living on the “fringes” of the Barranquilla “society.” My issue is with the number of homeless people I encountered, I witnessed in my brief stay in this tropical paradise.

I had a couple of hours before my flight back to the States to walk around Barranquilla – and what I saw caused me great distress. Let me state from the very start, Colombia is a safe country for international travelers. I feel very secure exploring the streets and cafes of most cities I have visited in Colombia; and it is never a good idea to walk around a “foreign” city by yourself. With that said, I like to walk around the cities I visit. I feel it gives me a great chance to jump into the cultural equivalent of the “deep end of the pool.” I think of these walkabouts as an anthropological experiment. I can see how life really unfolds for the people making their “lives” amidst the chaos.

Barranquilla is a port city of over 2 million people (in the entire metropolitan area). There is a thriving industrial base and a few well respected universities. Barranquilla can also lay claim to the music mastery that is the global pop phenomenon Shakira (see: http://www.shakira.com/)– yes, she hails from this Caribbean paradise. I was staying at a cultural landmark – the Hotel Prado (see: http://www.cotelco.org/hotelprado/), in the downtown section of the city. During the first ten minutes of my cab ride into the city from the airport, I was amazed at the number of people living on the streets. This “amazement” was later brought to a real angst when I ventured out on my walk.

My walk consisted of a leisurely (make that a sweaty) stroll lasting about 2 hours – through "good" and "not-so-good" sections of the city. Yet, wherever I went I witnessed people living on the streets. People lying on the sidewalks, people curled up in card board boxes, people standing with blank stares. People living on the margins of this society. People living amongst the mass of humanity, but invisible to the eyes of so many passersby.

As many of you know, I am very much attuned to the plight of homelessness and disenfranchised people. I have spent my entire professional career working with homeless young adults. Perhaps this is why I saw so many marginalized peoples? Perhaps the Caribbean climate of Barranquilla makes it “easier” to live outside? I am not above a biased thought or two, but this homeless “epidemic” seemed a bit above the average for what I have witnessed in other Latin American cities.

Now, as I write this journal entry from the seat of the plane that is carrying me back to Portland, I wonder what messages I can take back from my experiences. I wonder what steps HBI can take, can implement, to help build bridges for some of the most marginalized citizens of Barranquilla and other developing country cities. I know that my first response (emotion driven response) is to want to “jump in” and develop a homeless drop-in center, perhaps even partner with the Colombian government to develop a street outreach program that works to bring people from the streets to a center where they can receive social service advocacy. I don’t know that this is the best way to approach homelessness in Colombia. It may be more profound to invest in the development of a systematic model to delve into the numerous factors that lead to marginalization. A program that is sustainable, culturally appropriate and based on the needs, desires and wishes of the people who are most impacted by the program – the homeless.

What we are trying to do at Health Bridges International is bring creativity, pragmatism and collaboration to everything we are involved with. Our next steps in Colombia may be as simple as researching the current state of outreach and assistance to the homeless in Barranquilla and working to support these efforts. Whatever we do, it will be driven by our deep respect for God’s plan and the belief that partnerships are the basis for sustainability.

I am profoundly impacted by my experiences in Colombia – and I know that we at HBI will be lead to use that impact to bring hope to “invisible” members of our society.

Thank you for reading about the work of HBI; and thank you for your continued support.

Blessings,

Wayne Centrone
HBI Board President

The Relief Works Goes On

In our attempt to keep you continuously up-to-date on the latest news from Peru, Posted below is another fantastic and informative update from our partners Union Biblica del Peru (see: http://www.unionbiblicaperu.org/):

"September 12, 2007

Hello again,

A good number of you have been to Ica with us and will probably remember the trip to the Ballesta Islands and the beautiful Hotel Paracas from which we departed on the boats. That hotel is no longer. It crumbled during the two minute long earthquake and only minutes later were covered by the 20 ft. tidal wave. Perhaps from bits and pieces left, they can rebuild. Who knows?

You will be happy to know that our Ica well is working to capacity and with monies received the water truck continues giving away this precious commodity which people have little of at best of times.

Some of you will remember having been, or having heard of Cachiche, the home to renowned witchdoctors and center of demon worship- There is no evangelical church there. The priest closed down the Catholic Church. You will recall the palm tree with seven heads, the unscheduled porno play 10 year old kids put on in their school for a work team we took there and where we started an S.U. meeting.

The earthquake tore the place apart. I asked Marco whether he and his team felt brave and confident enough to open an emergency feeding center there if asked to. It took him, not two seconds to say ‘claro que sí’ (‘of course').

So I consulted with Willie McPherson, Executive Director of our partners, the Vine Trust of Scotland, to see whether they would allow us to ‘stretch’ the $50,000 they had sent for the 4 soup kitchens in order to add a 5th. His immediate response was met by great enthusiasm by Marco Cordova, our Ica-Pisco staff worker in charge of our Relief Efforts. (See picture of Marco in red shirt). 100 more kids from no less than Cachiche! Praise God!

I need to make a few clarifications. In Scripture Union we are all encouraged to be very careful about the facts we give out. That is why you often get a polite, ‘I’m sorry, I don’t really know’ when you ask for statistics. I quoted our local newspaper in giving 253,000 as the number of homeless. Last night I heard the BBC broadcast report ‘over 200,000’ so I now question the accuracy of my first report. Actually, I never know how people come up with any of these numbers. Guesstimates, I should imagine.

Second correction: My first report gave 8.0 as the magnitude of the earthquake. We now know that on the Richter scale it was 7.9.

It is good to see some of our older and now trusted abandoned boys assisting in the Rescue-Relief efforts. They have the inside track on suffering, so are well suited for the part they play. I will be going to Ica this week and hopefully will be able to send you more up-to-date photos afterwards.

Thanks again for your support during this time!

Paul & Marty"

HBI's commitment is to build support for our in-country partners as they settle in for the "long haul" of community re-building and program development. You may make a donation to the work of HBI at http://www.hbint.org/ - all the funds will go to support the work of NGOs helping Peruvian citizens.

Thank you for your prayers and commitment to the people of Peru - the work of rebuilding has only just begun!

An Update from Peru - The Relief Work

Posted below is another update from our partner organization Union Biblica Del Peru (Scripture Union in English). Union Biblica has been working extensively in the earthquake torn regions of Pisco and Canete to bring relief and basic services to those displaced by the disaster. Their work is a "grass roots" movement and relies strongly on independent donors and church giving.

HBI has recently raised over $2,000 that will be sent to Union Biblica for their efforts with communities that have been disrupted and displaced by the earthquake. Our goal is to raise more than $10,000 to send to Union Biblica and another $15,000 to be used for the development of water purification efforts in the region.

An update from Paul and Marty Clark of Union Biblica del Peru:

"Dear Friends,

Here are a few photos (HBI Note: see above) of the way parts of Chincha, Ica, and all of Pisco have remained since August 15th. In 2 of the pictures, you can see just what one after another street looks like. Then, the one with the blue plastic is what remains of Alan's house. Then, you can see in the distance one of our 30 tents we gave away being used. The last 2 show children who are being fed - 2 good meals a day - at our 'soup kitchens'.

Just an hour ago I had a phone call from Marco, our schools' worker in Ica who is in charge of the distribution of food. He asked permission to move one of the four feeding centers, because the bulldozers have come into the area to remove the rubble. The Government is, I believe, in spite of the news contrary to this, doing its best. There always has been corruption here, and so it is sad, but not surprising to see donated food and clothing being sold.

As I mentioned previously, thieves on the rampage constitute one of the major post-earthquake problems. Our Board chairman has a relative in Pisco. He was lying, totally trapped in the heavy debris of his home. Only his head was free. He saw a thief come by looting. He pleaded for help and told the man that if he freed him, he could have the money he had in his pocket. The thief removed the bricks, etc., helped himself to the money and left the victim motionless. His spine is broken in two places, is totally paralyzed and will, if he survives, be so for life.

It is good to see 400 children being fed, very sad to hear their stories, comforting to know that, although we can never fully understand, our God does not make mistakes. His will be done, and thank you for being part of what is being done here as you enable us to reach out.

As ever,

Paul & Marty"

The work of providing support and hope to the regions most effected by the earthquake has just begun - and you can help. If you would like to donate to the Earthquake Relief Fund of HBI - please go to http://www.hbint.org/donate/money.php

Thank you for your time, your energy and your commitment to the people of Peru. God Bless.

Quote for the Day

"Setting an example is not the main means of influencing another, it is the only means."

- Albert Einstein

Thought for the Day

"People say, 'What good can one person do? What is the sense of our small effort?' They cannot see that we must lay one brick at a time. We can be responsible only for the one action of the present moment. But we can beg for an increase of love in our hearts that will vitalize and transform all our individual actions, and know that God will take them and multiply them, as Jesus multiplied the loaves and the fishes."

- Dorothy Day (from Loaves and Fishes)