September 21 was the International Day of Peace, Disarmament and Non-Violence, started in 1982 by the United Nations with the goal of creating one intentional day a year to ponder the impacts of putting aside armed conflict. It is dedicated to commemorating and strengthening the ideals of peace. Therefore, in commemoration of peace, I asked
There is a special energy when women on the coast get together. Maybe it is because it does not happen very often or maybe it is because there is extra joy in having someone to help with the dishes, but whatever the reason, I am always glad to participate. A few weekends ago, fellow Coast
Here’s my latest article from the Seed website! Be sure to watch/read/listen to the other Seeder’s reflections as well. Mampuján has big dreams and big opportunities to match. The displaced Afro-Colombian community is the first in Colombia to undergo a process of reparations under the Transitional justice process of Law 975. The law remains controversial,
“Happiness” by Jane Kenyon There’s just no accounting for happiness, or the way it turns up like a prodigal who comes back to the dust at your feet having squandered a fortune far away. And how can you not forgive? You make a feast in honor of what was lost, and take from its place
Going to school with Juana Alicia is always an adventure. Juana Alicia is a community leader in Mampuján and also teaches what we would call home-economics but here is called Preparation and Manipulation of Alimentation in the neighbouring community of San Pablo. I am, by the way, a famous person in San Pablo because I
Here’s a link to an article I wrote for the Seed website a couple of months ago. For a small community of around 320 families, Mampuján has a surprisingly large number of eating options. These range from two restaurants at the front of the town, another along a side street, several fruit stands, including women
I’m glad June is over. It was a hard month in many ways, including days of travel and too many days of meetings in Bogota. However, all of those days of meetings did provide the opportunity to eat a lot of delicious food. And while I don’t enjoy the freedom everyone in my community feels
There is a popular article circulating around the internet about the 30 things every woman should have and know by the time they are 30. As someone who is preparing for an especially intense annual birthday crisis on June 16, I read the article with interest, only to find myself almost laughing out loud. The
“Anna, do you think the reparations will arrive by Friday? I really need some money by Friday.” “Normally, I’d be planting corn at this time of year, but they told us the reparations were coming soon, so I decided to wait until I had the money to buy the seed. Now, I don’t know what
I have decided to make of list of at least one good, or perhaps just random, thing that happens to me every day. It will help me to remember some of the small details of what happens here and also give me something to be thankful for. As well, this will help the rest of
Anna L. Vogt 