21/02/2023
Ready to say a tearful goodbye to with a full heart.
My last week has been spent in Cali filming, learning about grassroots community action and running photo workshops with Asociación Mejorando Vidas - Asomevid Leivis Alises Preciado Rengifo❤️which does so much to improve the lives of those in and Carlos Tobar and students from . Javeriana Cali
I’ve been fed to within an inch of my life,🤩 danced salsa and more salsa,❤️ learned a lot of Spanish and seen again how people living in difficult and dangerous conditions seem to have the most kind and generous souls.
and others have worked to reduce violence in the neighbourhood investing social capital by, amongst other things, turning dangerous areas into gardens, running workshops for young people, painting peace slogans, recycling, growing food and protecting their eco system. Violence fluctuates but with recent programmes murders have dropped by as much as 47 per cent in two years.
They’re currently working on transforming the lagoon adjacent to the barrio. It’s full of an amazing variety of birds, toads, marsupials, insects and life. It’s surrounded by beautiful plants. So peaceful. Despite the outrageously loud birdsong. But also full of rubbish and contaminated water. It’s a really complicated process to stop this as much of it comes from outside the barrio. People with nothing burn whatever they can find, releasing toxic smoke, so that they can sell on the remaining metal.
But the community have grown something solid. They’ve built bug hotels and a composting area, process the plants to make paper, put up information signs and are raising awareness. They photographed a lot of this during our workshops and there will be of their work showing soon.
Thank you so much for Colombia for all you have taught and given to me these last three weeks. I will never forget and am so very grateful. Despite hardship, you have so much and are so willing to share it.
Thank you also to The Churchill Fellowship for all the support for this to happen.