Life from Canada to Latin America, one word at a time.
#rapedneverreported has sparked important dialogue over the last month in Canada. While sexual violence remains an invisible, victim blaming crime filled with intimidation, that does not mean that victims are simply silent or do not have powerful proposals for change. As Kate McInturff points out, now that we are sorry, we need to listen and to
I was in Canada in June for a whirlwind of wedding and family love. I was there for the longest day, the Summer Solstice. People in my Bogota office still remark with wonder whenever I mention my trip home that: “When Anna was there, day lasted all night long.” As fall begins in the north
Over the last few years, I have grown cynical. I hear promises and assume they will be broken. I go to meetings and marches and remain unmoved. I have little faith that big change will take place. It is easy, in the day to day slog of imprisonments, impunity, broken promises and violence, to forget
Para leer en español Every day at five am in the small rural community of Basurú, on Colombia’s Pacific Coast, a group from the local Mennonite church gathers to broadcast the events of the day. Using a microphone connected to megaphones hoisted high above the community on bamboo poles, the technology may be archaic but
A wise person once told me that advocacy means to listen boldly. I have been trying to put that into practice ever since. As a Seed group, we attempted to listen boldy by visiting Mesoamerica. We wanted to examine paradigms of power and change from the bottom up and see how Mennonite Central Committee (MCC)
Español A lifetime and three years ago, I lived in Ottawa. It was wonderful, despite polar vortex conditions. They say you can never go back but last week I did. I ate a falafel, had wonderful conversations with old friends, spent too much money on books and maple syrup, and connected with the MCC Ottawa
I´m sure you are all familiar with those email alerts or posts on your Facebook newsfeed from Syria, from Palestine, from Guatemala and even from Colombia calling on you to take action about some human rights crisis somewhere. I don’t know about you, but I often feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of crisis in
Español Aqui Advocacy is the focus of the month! What is it, how does it work and who does it are all questions that we Seeders are wrestling through after our big trip to Honduras, Mexico and Guatemala, and of course, our present work in Colombia. Here’s a reflection of working with the church: I
Español Aqui Five days and 25 tortillas later, I’m feeling great, albeit a tad bloated, after our Seed trip to Honduras. As part of the advocacy component of Seed, half the group is in Honduras and the other half is in Mexico, where we are researching and examining what political advocacy looks like in a
Defenseless under the night Our world in stupor lies; Yet, dotted everywhere, Ironic points of light Flash out wherever the Just Exchange their messages: May I, composed like them Of Eros and of dust, Beleaguered by the same Negation and despair, Show an affirming flame. -W.H. Auden
Anna L. Vogt 