Projects in Colombia

Colombia is a country that struggles with violence and corruption. The violence involves drug cartels, FARQ (a Marxist rebel group), and other paramilitaries. In addition to money and arms, military groups need soldiers. They frequently attempt to force villagers in the rural parts of Colombia to give up children as young as 11 years-old to join them. The result is tens of thousands of internally displaced people (IDP) huddled around the major cities of Colombia, desperately trying to keep their children away from these soldier-starved armies.

In the cauldron of an IDP zone, the effects of sin are often magnified. Many fathers abandon or abuse their families, mothers desperately cling to the next man that comes along (often for safety), and children join gangs.

It is in these IDP areas, where people live out impoverished lives (the picture shows a typical kitchen in one of the homes) governed by local militias who come out at night to impose their will with guns, that our partner CDA (Corporacion Dios es Amor) is operating (with funding from Word & Deed Holland, Word & Deed Canada and Word & Deed USA). Christian schools filled with sponsor children are integrated with medical clinics, vocational training, micro-loans projects (small loans for family run businesses) and many other supporting projects with the intent of transforming entire families and through them, entire communities. Since the golden thread of the Gospel runs through each of these projects, many also come to know Christ as their Lord and Savior. Even in the darkest areas, the bright light of God’s amazing grace is at work. People whose faces were once deeply etched with despair are now filled with the joy of being reconciled with God through the redeeming blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Child Sponsorship Program
Monthly Child Sponsorship $35 (in Canada), $32 (in US) per child

By sponsoring a child, you have the privilege of fundamentally changing a child's life. Children in the program have the opportunity to receive a Christian education, food, clothing and medical care. Most importantly, your sponsor child will hear and, by God's grace, respond to the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

As a participant in this program you will receive a picture of the child with some background information including the conditions in which the child lives. You will be able to correspond with the child and will receive at least two letters or reports per year updating you on the progress of the child. Child Sponsorship programs are being run in Colombia, Guatemala and India as well as other countries.

Colombia – Girls’ Home at Tenjó (Budget: $105,000)

Most of the sponsored children live at home, often in difficult circumstances. Over time, CDA, our Christian partner organization in Colombia, has recognized that some of the young girls are victims of horrible abuse. These girls needed to be brought to a safe shelter. The home at Tenjó (pronounced Tenho), located in the countryside outside of Bogotá, was built to be such a shelter. There are 60 (30 supported by W&D North America and 30 by Woord en Daad Holland) young girls living there in a beautiful but simple set of structures. The large bedrooms house 15 girls each and each room has a “mother” sleeping in a slightly separated part of the room. Between each room is a large bathroom with showers etc. There is a large playroom with lots of books and toys. The girls range in age from 3 to 16 years of age.

Health Brigades – Bogotá, Colombia (Budget: $24,000)

In addition to medical clinics connected to the schools run by CDA for the sponsored children, mobile health clinics travel to various parts of the squatter zones on a revolving basis, enabling people who otherwise have no access to medical attention to get the care they need. Ten Health Brigade mobile clinics have been held in various impoverished areas of Bogotá. Tents are used to house doctors, dentists, hair dressers (trainees from the vocational school), and eye examiners. The first room that everyone must visit, is the one staffed by a chaplain who shares the Gospel with each patient.

By supporting this program, you can help demonstrate Christian love in action.

Helping Hands – Bogotá & Cartagena, Colombia
Budget: $37,000 for each location

In addition to bringing Christian education, uniforms, medical support and a nutritious meal each school day, Christian social workers from CDA regularly visit the homes of the sponsor children to help the parents deal with the difficult challenges they face. Often the mother is alone with the father having abandoned the family. If a family hits rock bottom with no food, no job and no where to turn, there is a program in place to provide the essentials they need for a period of 3 months. The name of this program is “Helping Hands”. The families receive food and some hygiene products while being required to attend classes at the Christian school in which they are taught basic financial and household management skills thoroughly immersed in a Christian worldview. The Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is presented to the parents and the need for a relationship with God through the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus is explained to them. Challenges in the home are often made worse by violent behavior, promiscuity and abuse. These troubled people need the transforming work of the Holy Spirit – in truth, this is their only hope (as it is ours but in a different context).

Colombia – John Calvin Christian School in Barranquilla
Transforming a community
(School Building: $308,000 per year for 3 years)
(Medical Clinic: $50,000 one time and $175,000 running costs in 2009)

This integrated approach to transforming communities has been carried out in the IDP zones around Bogota, Cartagena and now, over the past two years, we have begun to work in an IDP zone on the outskirts of Barranquilla, the second-largest city in Colombia. In partnership with CDA and the Reformed Church of Barranquilla (led by Pastor Edgar), we hope to build a new Christian school, set up a medical clinic and, in a few years, to add vocational training and micro-loans projects. This is a very major initiative for Word & Deed North America (Holland is not involved in this project). We are very much in need of God’s gracious provision and direction. The goal for the new school is to raise $924,000 over the next three years ($308,000 each year). A medical clinic previously run by another organization, but closed for several years, will be renovated ($50,000 budget) and will have an estimated running cost of $175,000 in 2009. This amount will decrease to zero over three years, since the operating cost will be covered by patients who can afford to pay small fees for their treatment – an approach being used with great success in Cartagena and Bogotá.

Churches, business groups, schools and individuals have already contributed to this project. Can we count on you to join as well? May the Lord use this large initiative to save countless needy sinners in Barranquilla who will one day gather around the throne in heaven and sing “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing.”

1 John 3:16-18
16 By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17 But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?
18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.