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| View of Soacha from Centro de Atencion Integral al Adulto Mayor |
At the same time, there are no internal displacement
camps within the borders of Colombia. So, where do these people go for support
and survival? They must seek shelter on the margins. They often end up in
places with little access to housing and other necessities, on the outskirts of
cities.
In southern Bogota there are many neighborhoods that have
been built at the edge of the valley, often climbing into the mountains. The
people who live in these communities are often those displaced from the
conflict, those looking for better economic opportunities in the city, and
those that can no longer afford living in the more “formal” areas of Bogota.
In this area, just outside of Bogota’s border, lies
Soacha, a municipality of the department (equivalent to a state in the USA) of
Cundinamarca. Many people (somewhere between 700,000 and 1 million) live in
Soacha. A great number of these have been displaced from elsewhere in Colombia.
Struggling to rebuild their lives and hold on to their dignity, they have built
up some incredible community associations. We had the fortunate opportunity to
visit one that IELCO is partnering with in the neighborhood called Buenos Aires,
‘Centro de Atencion Integral al Adulto Mayor’ (Comprehensive Care Centre for
the Elderly). It is a place where the elderly, living in difficult conditions,
lacking many services and unable to work can come for many things. They receive
comprehensive health check-ups and care, are provided therapeutic activities,
offered literacy training, and provided meals. Spending just a short day at
this center left us intrigued to learn more, especially as some of the elderly
members offered to tell us their stories and further our understanding of the
context of Colombia, the context we are now working in.
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| Veronica showing us her 'life box', a therapeutic tool made at the center |
Still in southern Bogota, but in Bogota’s city limits,
lies another community working to build itself up out of situations of displacement
and poverty. This community, called Caracoli, is in the locality of Bogota
called Ciudad Bolivar (one of twenty localities of Bogota). Ciudad Bolivar is
made up of 320 neighborhoods, of which 100 are considered illegal. Meaning they
do not have title to the land, permission to construct houses or contracts for
services to be provided. This means that people living in these “illegal”
neighborhoods do not have security of land or housing. They could be forced to
leave (again) at any moment.
A congregation of IELCO, called Luz y Vida (Light and
Life) has been in the neighborhood of Caracoli for 15 years. Last week we were
able to visit a women’s group that organizes there. This group acts as a
solidarity fund, creating voluntary savings plans and providing small loans for
the women members. It also creates a safe place for women to come together and
discuss community issues and how they affect women specifically, as well as
learn skills (sewing classes were underway when we visited), professional psycho-social
support and emergency help are offered as well.
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| Flor using a sewing machine for the first time (practicing on paper), lots of laughs! |