BOGOTA, Colombia - As I sat looking through the airplane window at the majestic mountains of Colombia, I kept thinking about God’s beautiful creation.
A boy smiles despite the conditions that surround him.
The scenery stretched beyond the horizon as the plane climbed higher and higher into the sky. As I took in the view, different images started flooding my mind of the places we had just been to visit.
I thought of the dilapidated shacks that are hard to call houses. There were hosts of them, one next to another, as far as the eye can see, no matter which direction you looked. There were broken down buildings; slabs of broken concrete that resembled a road, and trash-filled streets.
Then, unexpectedly, beauty among ashes: curious eyes on the face of a child, who probably hasn’t seen a washcloth in who knows how long. This is his home. This is his world. There is not much to admire in his house – a 12x10 shack with one old, broken bed where he sleeps with his mother and four siblings. There is not even enough room for a desk to do his homework.
Nataliya visits the CDA girls home.
But the fact that he even has homework to do is a good thing! And, he loves doing it, too. He hopes it will help him get out of these slums and have a better life one day. Thanks to CDA (Corporation Dios es Amor), a partner ministry of Operation Blessing, there is a school in this impoverished community bringing education and teaching the kids about the love of God. The ministry also has a Home for Girls outside Bogota. These young girls are taken out of at-risk situations so they can grow up in a loving atmosphere. The home is on a farm, where the girls learn to take care of the land, plant vegetables and tend to the animals.
The thing that excites me the most about this ministry is that they not only provide an education, but they also help the children transition into adulthood. There is a Trade Center, where the students can study after they graduate from high school to learn different professional skills, such as jewelry-making, sewing or baking as well as computers and business. There are also micro-enterprise loans available and personal consultants to walk alongside of them.
It’s truly incredible how these children in the midst of despair now have the opportunity to rise up and create a new life.