REFLECTIONS on UNICEF Field Visit to Colombia with American Airlines
June 22-27, 2014
By:
Carmi Daniels, AA Flight Attendant
As part of the American Airlines
Champions for Children volunteers we recently travelled to Colombia to visit
the UNICEF Country Program , American Airlines Supported Water and HIV/AIDS
projects. This post shares some
observations from the trip and general thoughts about the value of site visits .
The Project:
Environmental Protection School:
To recap, the project consists of 18 school campuses in
the rural zones of the municipalities of Santander de Quilichao and Buenos
Aires in the Department of Cauca where the overall objective is to generate
sustainability for healthy environments in the areas of water, sanitation and
environmental protection.
During the Field Visit we learned
the Department of Cauca has the second highest
poverty levels in Colombia, 5th place with the level of inequality. 43% of population are ethnic group
(indigenous or afro-descendants). Each
of the educational campuses there were no basic hygiene products like soap,
toilet paper , insufficient toilet bowlsTaps
and wash basins and even urinals are shared between boys and girls, There is no
adequate system for the disposal of solid waste nor an educational program to
educate and encourage the very simple practice of hand washing with soap and
water.
UNICEF collaboration with the
community, children, adolescents, parents, teachers, government and other local
institutions have improved environmental
and sanitation infrastructures, formulated
and implemented hand washing strategies and established integrated disaster risk management
plans.
Promotion of sexual and reproductive rights: prevention of pregnancy and HIV among
adolescents and young people:
The program aims to increase the
opportunities of Colombian children and adolescents especially the most disadvantaged and
vulnerable which includes the internally displaced population affected by
violence, those living in rural and poor areas and the indigenous and
afro-descendants communities.
Based on the information gathered, Santander de Quilichao with a population of
less than 100,000 residents faces the prevalence of infectocontagious
diseases. It was also identified as one
of the municipalities with the greatest risk of sexually transmitted infections
(STIs) due to sharing of syringes associated with drugs like heroin among young
population aged 10 and 25.
During our visit, we saw adolescents and young people from Santader
de Quilichao increase their capacity for genuine participation in initiatives
that are designed to prevent early pregnancies, transmission of HIV and
consumption of psychoactive substances.
General Thoughts on the Value of our Field Visits
As a Champion for Children
volunteer with American Airlines, the Field Visit impacted me in so many ways:
- It helped me develop a fuller picture of the context of
why we are collecting donations.
- It gave me a deeper appreciation
of the tremendous work UNICEF does in research, collaborations and implementation
that I did not understand from afar.
- The amount of time we spent
with the UNICEF staff, local
authorities, other donors as well as all the unstructured times on the site,
the long road trips, eating meals together built camaraderie, trust and
strengthened our mission. We asked
questions on a personal level that we cannot do over the phone or by email. Those times build relationships that will in
the end solidify our common goal.
- The Field Visits is a reality
check, extremely eye- opening and replaced my previous assumptions.
- Lastly, the emotional connection from being among those children is a testimony to
the work we all do and means we cannot
GIVE UP! They showed us despite their conditions and no
reason to go on they do anyway. They do not feel they belong and have been
discriminated against and carried the
stigma even in their adolescent lives. They choose to go on anyway. Their families and neighbors die and they live a life of poverty and struggle every day
of their life, but they rise up anyway.
Despite those conditions they sincerely showed us their appreciation,
they shared to us their meals, they showcased their artistic side, their innovations,
their talents and skills and gave their
all to us. We parted taking with us
their dreams of a better tomorrow.
Been three days and I am back to my normal routine but the faces of those children remain in my vision. The poverty and way of life is beyond my comprehension. I heard from one UNICEF staff what they have is luxury compared to Africa or other countries. I came from the Philippines and I thought the poorest of the poor in my country was the worse. Heart breaking as it is , I only hope that those in a position to give even a little of what they have will at least alleviate if not totally improve the life of these children. I am proud of my own family that followed our legacy of GIVING even when it hurts our own pocket. For that I am grateful and will never wish for a better family.
To JD, JR, Vlad, Vic, Mark, Beejay, Calie, Matet, Butch .... continue to share your blessings to those that are less fortunate than us. Find in your heart to always be a cheerful giver. Giving does not always constitute material things. I learned on this trip how the community come together, how parents binded and how those small kids contributed to better their lives and those of their neighbors and community at large by simply giving their time, talent, skills and loving LIFE and being thankful what little is given to them.
Santa Monica Beach, CA
