While in Colombia some kids in wake up every day with the firm intention of going to school and striving ahead, many other children in the island of Tierrabomba wake up thinking they should start their labor hours, this money will help them and their family’s livelihood.
But even in the midst of this reality conceived that they erase the smile on their faces. Tierrabomba children are always smiling; they are spontaneous, outgoing, kind, manage to infect every corner of the island with its joy and charm that characterizes them.
Likewise, they manage to fill and transform the heart with love and hope to every person that visits the island. Although maybe due to the suffocating heat the children are almost always without a shirt and with their feet uncovered.
The island
Tierrabomba is a Colombian island and it is located in the west of the Caribbean ocean and it is found 10 minutes away by boat of the most touristic and most expensive cities in Colombia, Cartagena and even then it is seemed to be forgotten.
Now a days the island lacks water and sewage, also there is no gas service, land lines or paved roads or libraries or public spaces for sport of arts. Their population is submerged in extreme conditions of poverty and absence of opportunity.
Their citizens are dedicated to fishing, while others are dedicated to the informal sales of crafts in the beaches of Cartagena, others drive the boat of the island of Tierrabomba to other touristic destinations, while women only have the option of domestic labor in family houses in opulent neighborhoods of Cartagena.
Even amid the indifference of the Colombian state all is not lost for the children in Tierrabomba because in the midst of all these shortcomings and adverse circumstances, hope is reborn, a hope that brings back the illusion to continue studying and continue to dream of a better world.
The foundation
Amigos del Mar (Friends of the Ocean) is a foundation that was born in the heart of a young men with the intention of offering the infants the right to go to school and have healthy recreation.
His name is Pedro Salazar, a Colombian born in Cali, social communicator and audiovisual producer of the Javeriana University of Cali, Currently he is developing social work in the island in favor of the kids and seniors.
Pedro arrived to Tierrabomba, as he expresses, because one day he was reading the bible and God talked to him that he should go to an island. His first option was San Andres located in the northeast of the Colombian coast, as he almost didn’t make it and he affirmed “God knows how he does his things”
Then he inherits some land in the island of Tierrabomba and decides to start building a hotel, during this process he notices the difficulties of the population and how it is extreme poverty, abandonment of children and the desertion of school. Aside from this there was also a major problematic in the economic, social and environmental sector.
Likewise there wasn’t a CAI or a Command of Immediate attention of the police nor recollection of garbage.
Once Pedro builds his hotel, he decides to promote it through videos, photos, webpages and there is where he starts to get close to the community and their needs so he decides in Christmas to distribute presents to the kids a permanent action that permits him to listen to them and realize which are their true needs and most of them didn’t even know the city of Cartagena that is just only 10 minutes away by boat.
Similarly, Pedro enters in the need to demonstrate to these kids that there are other places a part from the island and that they could be better if they would propose to do it, but this was only possible through education and good behavior.
So that is how he began with the kids to do trips in chivas and take them to know emblematic places of the city of Cartagena as Castillo San Felipe, La Popa, if they manage to obtain good grades in their schoolwork, that a lot of them didn’t even go to school, and that is how he started to do social work.
He starts noticing the social problems of the community in order to look for a solution with agents that could resolve their needs and problematic that affected them for example with foundations or work together with the town hall.
To help this youth Pedro decides with a friend to create a Foundation Amigos del Mar, where their objective is to reintegrate minors to education centers, which they will go back to school, put on their uniform and likewise they can have a healthy recreation.
What is also a plan is to execute projects of sustainable social development through art, culture and nautical sports.
Their goal is to search for the youth that is absent from school, due to their family or economic problems. Once they have been identified, the foundation buys them all the school supplies and their implementation in order to start school. In order to motivate them and form them with discipline, they are involved in the nautical life, teaching the how to SURF, WINDSURF, STAND UP PADDLE BOARD AND WINDSURF.
Some projects
Some of the projects of the foundation are:
Donation of school supplies. Where bags are given so the children can attend their classes. The foundation currently sponsors 6 kids so they can go to school. This is a monthly investment of COP $50,000 per child.
The foundation is also interested in the animals and they have managed to rescue abandoned animals; currently they have 6 dogs, more than 8 cats, a donkey and a turtle. Also they are paying attention to animals that need to be rescued.
There are soccer tournaments. Support of local tournaments, they give them balls, uniforms, plastrons, cones and material needed to organize the local tournaments.
Tatiana Jimenez Batista, mother of one of the benefited children, tells us that is has been a great experience for her daughter what the foundation has promoted to continue studying and interest in water sports. As well she recognizes that her daughter has been guided not only to practice the values inside the house but also outside.
The trash
In the foundation they teach the kids to recycle, reuse the trash, also there are productive jewelry workshops and crafts, that they are a way that helps them with dexterity and motor development. Taking into account the focus of the creativity and sustainable art.
To this day there has been three recycling festivals where they have recollected more tan 26 tons of garbage. The projection of children’s movies is totally free.
Also, volunteers have conducted various talks to children adults about recycling, journalism, environment, planting English, bible classes, children’s rights, and domestic violence. Invited NGO’s such as: Terre de Homes (land of people, Colombian America- Dones de Misericoria, Calvary Chapel, Twelve Media, Zakee Kuduro SINGER,
Jonathan López Hirado, is a child who is 11 years old and is part of the foundation and expresses how good it feels to be a part of this project, since he achieved to continue with his studies and has started to fall in love with nautical sports that they practice a lot, he affirms that when he is older he wants to be a great suffer.
Working as a team
The foundation Amigos del Mar also Works with volunteers from other countries, they should have their papers in order such as passport, ID, and medical insurance.
Every volunteer should pay its transportation, transfers and meals, also it isn’t necessary that they speak Spanish or know how to swim.
Today the community is convince that it is possible to strive ahead, that you can reach your goals and Pedro Salazar or “Mono” as he is called by his friends and families and natives keep believing that this God that has sent him on this mission can continue to give love, strength and a lot knowledge with the purpose that kids can continue with their live and obtain a good quality of life in a lovable and comprehensive environment.
