By Cecilia Gregg
Last summer I had the opportunity to travel to Colombia on a delegation with Witness for Peace (WFP), a politically independent, grassroots organization of people committed to nonviolence, peace, justice, sustainable economies, and policy changes in the Americas. Currently, there are hundreds of displaced farmers in the communities of Pueblo Nuevo, Alto Guayabal, Las Camelias, Caracoli, and Llano Rico who have lost their livelihood, dignity, and basic human rights when their lands were taken by the paramilitaries, mining companies, and agri-businesses. On the delegation, we met with these northern Colombian communities, and then shared our concern with regional Colombian representatives, including the 17th Brigade, U.S. Embassy Officials in Bogota, and with other NGOs. We met with these groups in hopes of bringing change to the region.
The delegation changed my life! Seeing the situation first-hand, I was moved to anger, sadness, outrage, helplessness, and frustration. Though there is much pain in the region, I came home with a greater sense of hope, love, energy, happiness, and peace, knowing that I could take a stand and create positive change in my life and in the lives of others. Seeing the poverty and harsh conditions in Colombia, I realized the waste in my own life and I recognized that I take so much for granted. In this country, we are blessed beyond belief and I realized that we can each do more to support each other and our global comrades in the pursuit of peace and aid.
When I returned from Colombia, my son and I downsized, getting rid of a house that was too costly and space that was never used. We moved to an apartment, half the size of our house. This fresh start freed up time, energy, and money. We’ve been able to use these extra resources to fund charitable endeavors and travel, getting to know the people of the world.
My renewed commitment to charitable causes prompted me to write this letter to tell you all the details about my trip and to ask you to get involved too. Whether you get involved with Witness for Peace or another organization, get out there and get passionate about a cause. Giving time, money, energy, or spreading the word, we can all make a difference in the important causes that we stand behind!
I leave you with these sentiments from Henry David Thoreau, “Be not simply good, be good for something.” I hope you are well and in good health and spirit.
Peace, Love, and Blessings.
Cecilia Gregg traveled to Uruba, Colombia in 2010 with a Witness for Peace delegation.
Showing posts with label socially responsible travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label socially responsible travel. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
Nicaragua: "There is so much the world can learn from you. There is so much I have learned from you."
This week students from the College of New Jersey's Bonner Center for Civic and Community Engagement are in Nicaragua with a Witness for Peace delegation. This is a direct account from those students.
Today I found a little bit of peace… in a place with a very uncertain future, filled with big hearts and hopeful spirits. Nicaragua. I came to visit you with no expectations, with no idea, but with the intention to become inspired and to let your history, your story, your beauty influence me… to allow you to bear motherhood over me for a few days… to feel your love, to feel your pain, even if it’s just for a little while. I came here with the idea that I could stop it all. Or at least do something to induce change. But after learning that you’ve become victim to unfair policies, unjust political figures, ignorance and corrupt authority, pesticides, homicide, false and unkept promises… that your children live in garbage dumpsters, that your children are being exploited by foreign companies, that your daughters carry on their backs the blame of all the misfortunes of their families, and your sons have lost themselves in their anger and disillusionment… I’ve become hopeless… soaked in guilt and despair. Yet somehow, magically, you have not. You still remain. You have been sucked dry of your milk by sons you did not bear, and still, you continue to produce nutrients for your children and a surplus. You have been covered by pollution and masked with the discards of the world, but you bloom, no matter the season, providing a corner of shade for any tired soul seeking relief from the sun above you. Your children have found a way to grow with their devastations, and not be consumed by them. They have learned how to move in a world that has no path for them. Chameleons of time and circumstance. You parade your scars of battle and revolution with grace and humility. You know the true definition of beauty. Blessed are you because you know what the true definition of honor is. You practice nobility, honesty, and you labor every single moment of the day in hopes to teach your children the joy in true and just work ethic. Most amazingly, you have forgiven all offenses made against you. You hold no grudge. You walk with love. There is so much the world can learn from you. There is so much I have learned from you. And today, as I was drowning in my guilt, exasperated by the sufferings I am witnessing, you sent one of your children to sing to my colleagues and I… and I heard your song of peace. You rescued me from my doubts, from my thoughts. You told me that you have not lost hope, nor have your children, and in turn, I cannot either.
-Maria
This post was originally published here.
Today I found a little bit of peace… in a place with a very uncertain future, filled with big hearts and hopeful spirits. Nicaragua. I came to visit you with no expectations, with no idea, but with the intention to become inspired and to let your history, your story, your beauty influence me… to allow you to bear motherhood over me for a few days… to feel your love, to feel your pain, even if it’s just for a little while. I came here with the idea that I could stop it all. Or at least do something to induce change. But after learning that you’ve become victim to unfair policies, unjust political figures, ignorance and corrupt authority, pesticides, homicide, false and unkept promises… that your children live in garbage dumpsters, that your children are being exploited by foreign companies, that your daughters carry on their backs the blame of all the misfortunes of their families, and your sons have lost themselves in their anger and disillusionment… I’ve become hopeless… soaked in guilt and despair. Yet somehow, magically, you have not. You still remain. You have been sucked dry of your milk by sons you did not bear, and still, you continue to produce nutrients for your children and a surplus. You have been covered by pollution and masked with the discards of the world, but you bloom, no matter the season, providing a corner of shade for any tired soul seeking relief from the sun above you. Your children have found a way to grow with their devastations, and not be consumed by them. They have learned how to move in a world that has no path for them. Chameleons of time and circumstance. You parade your scars of battle and revolution with grace and humility. You know the true definition of beauty. Blessed are you because you know what the true definition of honor is. You practice nobility, honesty, and you labor every single moment of the day in hopes to teach your children the joy in true and just work ethic. Most amazingly, you have forgiven all offenses made against you. You hold no grudge. You walk with love. There is so much the world can learn from you. There is so much I have learned from you. And today, as I was drowning in my guilt, exasperated by the sufferings I am witnessing, you sent one of your children to sing to my colleagues and I… and I heard your song of peace. You rescued me from my doubts, from my thoughts. You told me that you have not lost hope, nor have your children, and in turn, I cannot either.
-Maria
This post was originally published here.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Environmental Lessons from a Witness for Peace Delegation to Nicaragua
Last year a University of Portland student said that before joining a Witness for Peace delegation, "I was not politically aware, but going on this trip has opened my eyes. It has motivated me to be more aware and keep updated on what's going on in the world."
Now you can follow the experiences of 2011 University of Portland delegates to Nicaragua live.
It's Madie P. and Colton! We thought that this would be a good time to grab the computer while we had the chance and write a little something. Since we are the only ones with science majors (Environmental Science and Environmental Engineering), we want to reflect a little bit more on the environmental issues and impacts happening in Nicaragua. Last Saturday (May 14th) we had a speaker come to us at CEPAD. The speakers name was Julio Sanchez and he is an environmentalist that works with an organization called Humboldt Center. He came and talked to us about the environmental issues that are facing Nicaragua. So we are just going to lay out some facts first:
Nicaragua’s main source of revenue is from its natural resources. According to Julio, 75% of all Nicaragua’s income comes from the environment, but only 0.13% of the GDP goes toward preserving their land. Julio raised a point that if they did increase the amount of money for investment in the environment, it would reduce the amount of money for medical attention and would increase ecotourism. Nicaragua has 5% of the world’s biodiversity and if Nicaragua would invest more in preservation, this would boost the GDP dramatically. This extra money essentially could start a movement to create a stronger infrastructure.
From what we learned in the past couple days, countries are being encouraged to come and use these resources to increase jobs and create a flow of money to the economy. However, these companies are not being penalized for their overwhelming destruction to the environment. Luckily, this is recently changing. The Humboldt Center is making movements towards working with the government to making stronger policies, as well as increasing the actual enforcement of the policies.
What makes us the most upset is that even though in U.S. we have our environmental movements towards making a smaller carbon footprint, we are still creating pollution and deforestation in other countries. It’s basically canceling out all of our efforts that we make back at home. These companies need to be held responsible for their destruction to the environment in and outside the United States. Nicaragua has some truly unique wildlife and BEAUTIFUL landscapes. It deserves to be preserved so that our grandchildren will have the opportunity to see this biodiversity and beauty.
Overall, Julio’s talk definitely tied all of the issues we have been learning about together. In the midst of focusing and seeing all of the social and economical issues, Julio brought up a powerful point that nature is the basic foundation of these issues. Nature is the one that gives values to social, economic, and cultural to each and every country. It gives people an identity and life to communities. This alone should be a strong motivation to preserve something that gives us all life.
Woooh. Alright. A little longer than expected but hopefully you made it through. We just got back from the campo today (countryside for all those nonspanish speakers) and are pretty pooped. Dinner was delicious from the restaurant across the street and ended it with an ice cream run. On our way to “The Igloo”, we discovered some break dancing. Of course, our Witness for Peace leader, Riahl, joined and surprised all of the locals. Now some chitchat and cards are being played, but the night is wrapping up.
-Madie P. and Colton
This post was originally published here.
Now you can follow the experiences of 2011 University of Portland delegates to Nicaragua live.
It's Madie P. and Colton! We thought that this would be a good time to grab the computer while we had the chance and write a little something. Since we are the only ones with science majors (Environmental Science and Environmental Engineering), we want to reflect a little bit more on the environmental issues and impacts happening in Nicaragua. Last Saturday (May 14th) we had a speaker come to us at CEPAD. The speakers name was Julio Sanchez and he is an environmentalist that works with an organization called Humboldt Center. He came and talked to us about the environmental issues that are facing Nicaragua. So we are just going to lay out some facts first:
Nicaragua’s main source of revenue is from its natural resources. According to Julio, 75% of all Nicaragua’s income comes from the environment, but only 0.13% of the GDP goes toward preserving their land. Julio raised a point that if they did increase the amount of money for investment in the environment, it would reduce the amount of money for medical attention and would increase ecotourism. Nicaragua has 5% of the world’s biodiversity and if Nicaragua would invest more in preservation, this would boost the GDP dramatically. This extra money essentially could start a movement to create a stronger infrastructure.
From what we learned in the past couple days, countries are being encouraged to come and use these resources to increase jobs and create a flow of money to the economy. However, these companies are not being penalized for their overwhelming destruction to the environment. Luckily, this is recently changing. The Humboldt Center is making movements towards working with the government to making stronger policies, as well as increasing the actual enforcement of the policies.
What makes us the most upset is that even though in U.S. we have our environmental movements towards making a smaller carbon footprint, we are still creating pollution and deforestation in other countries. It’s basically canceling out all of our efforts that we make back at home. These companies need to be held responsible for their destruction to the environment in and outside the United States. Nicaragua has some truly unique wildlife and BEAUTIFUL landscapes. It deserves to be preserved so that our grandchildren will have the opportunity to see this biodiversity and beauty.
Overall, Julio’s talk definitely tied all of the issues we have been learning about together. In the midst of focusing and seeing all of the social and economical issues, Julio brought up a powerful point that nature is the basic foundation of these issues. Nature is the one that gives values to social, economic, and cultural to each and every country. It gives people an identity and life to communities. This alone should be a strong motivation to preserve something that gives us all life.
Woooh. Alright. A little longer than expected but hopefully you made it through. We just got back from the campo today (countryside for all those nonspanish speakers) and are pretty pooped. Dinner was delicious from the restaurant across the street and ended it with an ice cream run. On our way to “The Igloo”, we discovered some break dancing. Of course, our Witness for Peace leader, Riahl, joined and surprised all of the locals. Now some chitchat and cards are being played, but the night is wrapping up.
-Madie P. and Colton
This post was originally published here.
The Campo Homestay: "It's outside our comfort zone but stepping out for 3 days and embracing it is the way to go!"
This week students from the College of New Jersey's Bonner Center for Civic and Community Engagement are in Nicaragua with a Witness for Peace delegation. This is a direct account from those students.
It's day 3 in Nicaragua and everything is so far so good. Nicaragua this year has been great thus far. When I arrived here I wondered if I was going to have a similar experience then the last time I was here.. and so I concluded that I did not want to compare one Nica trip to the other. I want to take this second trip as a second chance. Today I realized that I have not done enough to help Nicaragua last year and this coming year I need scream to the top of my lungs and raise awareness about the social injustices that Nica is going through every single day.
Today I had the opportunity to talk to some people that are staying at CEPAD (the name of the place we are staying) as well.. and I really want to know what they personally think about the current president and what they thought about the fact that he is going to run for the third time for office. Something that was against the law but he personally made sure to change that just so he can run again. They really were opinionated about the president and what they expected from him.. The people in Nica especially college students are iffy about the president, he has done good things but he has not been to transparent with the things he is doing. So I guess what worries many people here is if he is changing the law and running again to just become another Fidel Castro? or Chavez? Which by the way they are all buddies along with my very own Ecuadorian president.. So the college students expressed concern about all these relationships and hope that only good comes out of these relationships and they also hope that all these presidents are working for the people and not to get richer or steal from the country. However, if we look at Chavez case.. I am sure he is praying (like one of the speakers today mentioned) that the "petrolio" cost gets higher so that Venezuela gets richer.. Something to think about
Before I engaged in conversation with the Nicaraguense college students, Witness for Peace allowed us to talk to 3 speakers today. We first learned about Neo-liberalism.. which was actually good because it was a refresher and definitely helped me understand everything else that happened through out the day. After breakfast at 7am.. may i mention. We took a trip with Yamilette Perez who helps her community by having her very own small clinic. This clinic is a free clinic so many people that have flu or any type of sickness come to her for help and she is there! Her story however is very interesting she lived in a dump for a big chunk of her life and she worked there as well, collecting bronze, plastic and basically sorting out the garbage that all of Managua (the capital city of Nicaragua) dumps daily. She had her only daughter in the dump and she showed us pictures of her daughter very un-healthy because of her economic status. She did not have money so she often had to eat meat that was thrown away by other people. She told us that she would rub these guava leaves on the meat so that the smell of the meat is canceled out and help her eat it better. She would often not eat breakfast or lunch so that she would be really hungry at night.. enough to allow her self to eat the passed away meat. It was hard to her her story but I realized how strong of a woman she is. She is now helping others, no longer working in the dump but instead has a house in a community next to the dump. This allows her to still have the opportunity to help her community. Its amazing to see people go though some really tough times in their lives and they still have time to think of others or still have that burning passion to help others even though your very own life still needs help too. She is a great example of a strong woman.. she got though it all and she is still standing tall and with a smile on her face. She is a very happy person and not many people in the USA can even imagine going through what she did and not be mad at God or at the world. Life can be tough for me.. finals, personal problems but once you hear her story my problems become so small compared to hers. It just makes you appreciate everything you have.. but that's it? Do you appreciate and walk away? NO! You take action.. you do something about all this! This leads me to mention the reflection we had with the whole group about what we are going to do when we get back from Nica. We obviously realized that "this is not ok!" like my roomie Jenn would say.. In our reflection and through out this whole trip I want to brainstorm ideas with others on this trip.. and see what we can do.. Last year we had a Nica forum and that was it.. YES! its hard to balance school and Bonner and other activities on campus and still try to organize an event.. but its not impossible.. So I have challenged myself .. to do more then what I did last year for Nica this year. Actually, this new Nica group silently challenged me to do something more for Nica then a simple Nica forum..Which I do not down talk it because I think last years forum was great.. it took a lot of planning and everyone who spoke did a great job.. but this is just a motivation to do more.. to basically improve and build upon the other ideas that have already been implemented by other delegations to help raise awareness for Nica. I just don't want to get carried away by "life" once I get back to the USA and not remember the things I have experienced here.. and so I hope that everyone in this years delegation from TCNJ can push each other and nudge each other when we go back to the U.S. and remind each other that we need to take action! Its been REAL.. I can not wait until we go to Ramon Garcia which is el campo.. and see my host family from last year.. I hope she remembers me because I sure do! I also hope that everyone that is on this trip gets excited for it too.. its hard to get excited because everyone is a but anxious about what to expect in el campo.. Bears, tigers, BUGS.. ha ha.. I hope that everyone worries do not get in the way of learning from their families and really listening to what they have to say about their own economic issue. Its natural though to be nervous about el campo.. heck I was when I first went.. its outside our comfort zone but stepping out for 3 days and embracing it is the way to gooo! I am excited for the following days.. i hope to meet more Nicaraguenses..and talk to more people about politics which I really think is interesting right now.. hot topic..
-Kat
This post was originally published here.
It's day 3 in Nicaragua and everything is so far so good. Nicaragua this year has been great thus far. When I arrived here I wondered if I was going to have a similar experience then the last time I was here.. and so I concluded that I did not want to compare one Nica trip to the other. I want to take this second trip as a second chance. Today I realized that I have not done enough to help Nicaragua last year and this coming year I need scream to the top of my lungs and raise awareness about the social injustices that Nica is going through every single day.
Today I had the opportunity to talk to some people that are staying at CEPAD (the name of the place we are staying) as well.. and I really want to know what they personally think about the current president and what they thought about the fact that he is going to run for the third time for office. Something that was against the law but he personally made sure to change that just so he can run again. They really were opinionated about the president and what they expected from him.. The people in Nica especially college students are iffy about the president, he has done good things but he has not been to transparent with the things he is doing. So I guess what worries many people here is if he is changing the law and running again to just become another Fidel Castro? or Chavez? Which by the way they are all buddies along with my very own Ecuadorian president.. So the college students expressed concern about all these relationships and hope that only good comes out of these relationships and they also hope that all these presidents are working for the people and not to get richer or steal from the country. However, if we look at Chavez case.. I am sure he is praying (like one of the speakers today mentioned) that the "petrolio" cost gets higher so that Venezuela gets richer.. Something to think about
Before I engaged in conversation with the Nicaraguense college students, Witness for Peace allowed us to talk to 3 speakers today. We first learned about Neo-liberalism.. which was actually good because it was a refresher and definitely helped me understand everything else that happened through out the day. After breakfast at 7am.. may i mention. We took a trip with Yamilette Perez who helps her community by having her very own small clinic. This clinic is a free clinic so many people that have flu or any type of sickness come to her for help and she is there! Her story however is very interesting she lived in a dump for a big chunk of her life and she worked there as well, collecting bronze, plastic and basically sorting out the garbage that all of Managua (the capital city of Nicaragua) dumps daily. She had her only daughter in the dump and she showed us pictures of her daughter very un-healthy because of her economic status. She did not have money so she often had to eat meat that was thrown away by other people. She told us that she would rub these guava leaves on the meat so that the smell of the meat is canceled out and help her eat it better. She would often not eat breakfast or lunch so that she would be really hungry at night.. enough to allow her self to eat the passed away meat. It was hard to her her story but I realized how strong of a woman she is. She is now helping others, no longer working in the dump but instead has a house in a community next to the dump. This allows her to still have the opportunity to help her community. Its amazing to see people go though some really tough times in their lives and they still have time to think of others or still have that burning passion to help others even though your very own life still needs help too. She is a great example of a strong woman.. she got though it all and she is still standing tall and with a smile on her face. She is a very happy person and not many people in the USA can even imagine going through what she did and not be mad at God or at the world. Life can be tough for me.. finals, personal problems but once you hear her story my problems become so small compared to hers. It just makes you appreciate everything you have.. but that's it? Do you appreciate and walk away? NO! You take action.. you do something about all this! This leads me to mention the reflection we had with the whole group about what we are going to do when we get back from Nica. We obviously realized that "this is not ok!" like my roomie Jenn would say.. In our reflection and through out this whole trip I want to brainstorm ideas with others on this trip.. and see what we can do.. Last year we had a Nica forum and that was it.. YES! its hard to balance school and Bonner and other activities on campus and still try to organize an event.. but its not impossible.. So I have challenged myself .. to do more then what I did last year for Nica this year. Actually, this new Nica group silently challenged me to do something more for Nica then a simple Nica forum..Which I do not down talk it because I think last years forum was great.. it took a lot of planning and everyone who spoke did a great job.. but this is just a motivation to do more.. to basically improve and build upon the other ideas that have already been implemented by other delegations to help raise awareness for Nica. I just don't want to get carried away by "life" once I get back to the USA and not remember the things I have experienced here.. and so I hope that everyone in this years delegation from TCNJ can push each other and nudge each other when we go back to the U.S. and remind each other that we need to take action! Its been REAL.. I can not wait until we go to Ramon Garcia which is el campo.. and see my host family from last year.. I hope she remembers me because I sure do! I also hope that everyone that is on this trip gets excited for it too.. its hard to get excited because everyone is a but anxious about what to expect in el campo.. Bears, tigers, BUGS.. ha ha.. I hope that everyone worries do not get in the way of learning from their families and really listening to what they have to say about their own economic issue. Its natural though to be nervous about el campo.. heck I was when I first went.. its outside our comfort zone but stepping out for 3 days and embracing it is the way to gooo! I am excited for the following days.. i hope to meet more Nicaraguenses..and talk to more people about politics which I really think is interesting right now.. hot topic..
-Kat
This post was originally published here.
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