Bicycles Change Lives in Guamal, Colombia
Father Gilberto wants to buy bicycles – a lot of bicycles! His mission
in Guamal, a small town in Colombia, South America, has 22 small
communities making up the parish. Most are accessible only by
primitive dirt roads. Many families live miles from the school. Those
who are better off have a donkey to take them back and forth; others
have bicycles.
 But
most of the 300 boys and girls Father Gilberto knows have to walk, and
that means they often miss school. Without an education, they have no
hope of escaping the poverty they are growing up in. So Father
Gilberto wants to buy bicycles – as many as he can – so the young
students can more easily make the long trek from home to school and
back each day.
It’s been over two years since Father Gilberto arrived in Guamal. The
people are among the poorest in the country. Most families make their
livelihood from fishing and farming, eking out a living from their
small plots of land. Buying bicycles for the school children of the
parish is just a small part of Father Gilberto’s ministry – but one
that gives him great rewards when the children are able to get to
school.
Thanks to friends like you, Father Gilberto and a group of lay
volunteers have provided 50 families with bicycles. As a result, over
100 children are able to attend school daily. This growing number is
due to the people of Guamal and their great sense of cooperation and
sharing – children ride two and three to a bike.
The parents of the children donate time helping at the parish infirmaries and family well-being  centers
by cleaning and cooking for the many people who volunteer their time
and skills – teachers, doctors, nurses, seminarians, and priests. They
also take care of the sick. This is their way of giving back through
service in appreciation for the bicycles they’ve received.
Fr. Gilberto keeps up with the progress of each child through monthly
meetings with their parents. If a child and his or her family decide
not to attend school any longer, the bicycle is returned and given to
another deserving child.
The bicycle program in Guamal is just one example of how our
missionaries meet the ordinary needs that mean so much to so many.
Thank you for your support, which makes all this possible.
|
