The Misak indigenous community, located in the highest mountains of the Cauca department, has been severely affected by the Colombian armed conflict due to the historical presence of the FARC guerrilla in the region. Here Wájaro is:
1) Working with a regional cooperative to launch new economic initiatives that benefit the local population.
2) Partnering with other international NGOs with the aim of strengthening the internal capacity of a regional cooperative.
3) Helping to create greater economic opportunities for a local women’s artisan association.
4) Supporting leadership development initiatives for youth.
The Wayuu is an Amerindian group that numbers approximately 450,000 and inhabits the semi-desert Guajira Peninsula straddling the Colombia-Venezuela border, on the Caribbean Sea coast. Here, Wájaro is:
1) Accompanying an association of Wayuu protestant leaders working to strengthen their communities.
2) Collaborating with international and national NGOs to provide basic educational training to community leaders.
3) Helping to develop a women’s artisan association to create income generation possibilities for Wayuu families.
4) Partnering with a local indigenous seminary to offer theological education to protestant leaders from across the Wayuu territory.
The Pro-Indigenous Consortium of Colombia is comprised of organizations that support a network of protestant indigenous leaders from different regions around Colombia. Through its participation in the Consortium, Wájaro is:
1) Building relationships with protestant indigenous leaders, with the aim of identifying and supporting different projects in their communities.
2) Supporting initiatives that foment greater community and solidarity between indigenous groups on a national and regional scale around common challenges and shared experiences.
Wájaro is collaborating with international and Colombian organizations to gather, organize and make public, accurate, relevant and timely data about Colombia’s indigenous population. More specifically, for as many indigenous groups as possible, Wájaro is working to gather information pertaining to:
1) General tribal demographics.
2) External pressures affecting the community.
3) Religious and spiritual composition.