Food baskets to 50.000 needy families in Colombia!

2024 is starkly demonstrating that climate change is not a looming future threat but a tangible and frightening reality. Extreme weather events and unprecedented devastating impacts are unexpectedly knocking on everyone's door, affecting both the planet and humanity. Currently, El Niño is putting Colombia in a tough spot, with the latest report from the Agricultural Entities' PMU revealing that 23,986 hectares of crops have been adversely affected by climatic conditions, including water scarcity, frosts, and wildfires. These challenges disproportionately affect small-scale farmers.

El Niño, a natural climate variability phenomenon characterized by the warming of the Pacific Ocean waters, predominantly impacts the Andean and Caribbean regions. It is associated with prolonged droughts and intense temperatures. Though the relentless sun has recently given way to torrential rains due to other meteorological phenomena and atmospheric conditions, the consequences of the El Niño Phenomenon on water resources, crops, and food supply are expected to be severe.

This global challenge calls for the implementation of social, environmental, and food security solutions. Climate change could push between 2.4 million and 5.8 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean into extreme poverty by 2030—a daunting figure, especially considering that 43.2 million people are currently facing hunger in the region.

In response to this emergency, the Bogotá Food Bank has been remarkably effective. It has distributed over 12 tons of food, beverages, and supplies to both relief organizations and communities, ensuring that no one goes without during this period. Additionally, it is supporting the farming families it partners with in more than 21 municipalities, helping them to mobilize their products.

Agricultural families are particularly vulnerable to climate change. They face reduced crop yields due to prolonged droughts and are at risk of flooding and soil erosion. A lack of crops means a lack of food for both farmers and urban residents. Without necessary climate adaptation measures, food production could dramatically decrease.

Addressing this issue is a collective responsibility. By preparing and taking real actions, we can ensure that rural communities remain productive and their activities revitalized, thus preventing food production from being impacted. We appeal once again to your generosity and that of your loved ones to join us in the fight against climate change and the battle against hunger.

Links:

• Bogota Food Bank website

Educating in areas where drug addiction and informality are the daily bread is a great challenge. Together with partner organizations, such as Taller del Maestro, we are a light of hope and a place of transformation through art. This organization serves children in their early childhood and teenagers. Each child in its first stage is like a sponge that absorbs everything, and together, we intend to leave a mark in those early years of life through nutritional components, values, and good care.

This organization, hand in hand with the Food Bank of Bogota, has been working for more than a decade in the Santa Fe neighborhood, one of Bogota's most dangerous and unequal areas. It has been quite a challenge, as most of the children who attend come from impoverished families. Currently, we serve mothers who are heads of households, migrant population, sex workers, or street vendors; previously, many families displaced by violence from María La Baja, Bolívar, used to come here.

They work with early childhood kids from 0 to 5 years of age; with them, the pedagogical program is developed based on creativity and playfulness. They use art a lot because many of these children, unfortunately, live in very secluded, small, and dark spaces. As for the support for the teenagers, a program with a dance, theater, and music school was implemented on Saturday, using artistic expression to enhance the talents of the adolescents. The TALLER DEL MAESTRO provides not only the pedagogical component but also the nutritional one.

Erika Marcela Benitez, the pedagogical coordinator, assures that: "We give our children breakfast, snack, and lunch. Many children only eat what they are offered at school, so ensuring a balanced and healthy diet is essential for their development and proper performance. The Food Bank of Bogota has been our primary support in nutritional issues, and the college interns they send us leave their mark, guide us, and teach us more. The Bank has been a blessing for us because it enriches our activities positively and extraordinarily.

The transformations that take place at El Taller are incredible. For example, some time ago, a girl entered the program at four years old. During the process, the team noticed that the way the mother looked was inappropriate and not desirable for a mother. It was evident she had a background. El Taller del Maestro began to work with her to give her advice and guidance, and little by little, she opened her heart and became an example for her daughter. Today, she is one of the collaborators of our allied organization.

This story is a moving testimony of how education and nutrition can change lives. Together, we are strengthening the mission of nourishing the hearts of those who need it most; let's keep fighting #TogetherAgainstHunger.

Links:

• http://www.bancodealimentos.org.co