What will I actually be doing in Colombia?

Right, well I'm about to leave home but just thought I'd write a quick post to let you know a bit more about what I'll be up to in Colombia (or at least, what I think I'll be up to in Colombia - Latin America is similar to Africa in that plans don't mean anything and we might end up doing something totally different to what we thought!)

We have two projects - one in the capital city, Bogota, and the other in Santa Marta, a city on the coast.

The first couple of months in Colombia will be spent in Bogota working alongside the Colegio Filadelfia para los Sordos (CFS) – The Philadelphia School for the Deaf. There are two main aims for the Step team
whilst you we on this project. The first is very much of a practical nature as we will be helping the college as it begins to extend the current building to help create more space for their ongoing work. Part of this work will involve helping to construct a foot ramp to the entrance to enable wheelchair access to the first floor. We’ll get your hands dirty with a spot of brick laying, mixing concrete, clearing away rubble, painting etc. This practical help will be of huge benefit to the project as it will mean they are able to reach more people, offer better access to those with disabilities and reach out further into the community.

The second aim of the project will be to help facilitate and engage with an activity programme for the students. We’ll help out with things such as taking the young people to the park for sports/games days, host board game events in the school, run beauty days with the girls, help with cooking activities (particularly something typically British – maybe some kind of cookies) and much, much more.

The last 2 months will be spent working alongside a Vineyard church (La Viña) in a poor area of Santa Marta. 

The church we will be working alongside has very limited facilities and next to no space for running any children’s activities. With this in mind one of the main aims for our time in Santa Marta is to help with the construction a terrace area and an additional room. The practical work involved in doing this will be 

fairly simple however due to the heat it will definitely be bit of a challenge! In addition to the above, the team will also help with the weekly running of the church. This will involve helping in Sunday services, getting stuck in to children’s work, and then attending various mid-week groups. The church is also keen for the team to help with a variety of activities they have planned for reaching out to the local community.

I'll do my best to keep my blog updated for you, but we will also be writing weekly reports which will be put on the Latin Link website here.