In the northeast of Colombia, in Santander, is the region known as Catatumbo, characterized mainly by a war that has been going on for more than fifty years, there are large coca plantations for the production of alkaloids and the presence of armed groups outside the law.
It is mostly a rural population that lives in the midst of poverty, State indifference and the crossfire for control of the territory; in the midst of these realities there is a fraternity of the Franciscan Province of St Paul the Apostle that has been seeking to enliven and dignify life in the small town of Luis Vero for the past ten years. Amongst the friars’ activities is a project that promotes a life called ADN Paz Catatumbo, which began in 2012. This project is in the Diocese of Tibú and also has the support of the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, which accompanies children, adolescents, young people, parents, caregivers and community-based groups in order to provide them with protective environments in their territory. In addition, it seeks to strengthen the capacities of the communities, generating actions for the recognition and mitigation of risks, and the strengthening of the life projects of its participants.
For two hours a week, the friars go to an educational institution in the area to meet with around forty participants from one of the project’s focus groups. There, with the playful-pedagogical tools of the methodology used, they delve into intrapersonal recognition, the strengthening of interpersonal skills, providing tools for the care and prevention of risks, the construction of peace and the promotion of entrepreneurship of the attendees, thus generating significant learning in the midst of the adversities of the territory.
ADN Paz Catatumbo is a proposal that transforms the lives of at least one hundred children, adolescents and young people who are the protagonists of the project on a daily basis. For the Franciscans, it is an authentic place of peace that helps to build a fraternal and peaceful society, a space that refuses to abandon the struggle for life and its dignity, returning hope to territories ravaged by war and promoting alternatives for human fulfillment.