Advertisement
Published: December 29th 2011
A lot of events go on here for Christmas, but the first one I will tell you about is the lunch we provided for the kids and crackheads of the San Jose neighborhood, aka the Danger Zone.
Yamile really wanted to do something for all the crackheads for Christmas, and she came up with providing them lunch the Friday before Christmas. Nicklas had just returned from a week in Cali to spend Christmas with us, and it was Ondrej’s (pronounced Andres’) last morning with us in Ibauge. We set off over to the barrio of San Jose in the morning, in order to get the big meal started for the estimated 100 people. There were already some older ladies there, I guess from the neighborhood, that pretty much had a hold on all of the cooking. Consequently, there really wasn’t anything for us to do. We watched them prepare this massive stew in this filthy dirty polluted park where the lunch would take place. Here, they chopped and cleaned tons of vegetables sitting on a makeshift bench. They also had a giant pot burning on a tree they had chopped down. From time to time, one of the ladies would
pick up some plastic found littered on the ground and threw it into the flames. Mmmm healthy.
We spent hours waiting for this grand lunch playing with the kids that were also waiting. The cops even came to keep watch on everything, making sure the crackheads wouldn’t turn on us. *That in itself is highly important to note as the cops don’t ever step foot in San Jose, as it’s too dangerous. The group of cops that came were young and really nice. They even brought a giant stereo which they blared at full blast, in true Colombian fashion. I think the cops were even amazed they were spending time there as they kept snapping away photos; though I suppose I took a lot too (but not out of disbelief of being there). Unless of course, one of the older girls would tell me to put my camera away whenever a group of young guys would pass by (my camera was at risk of being stolen). I also let these two little girls grab a hold of my camera from time to time, and they had no problem snapping away at every single thing, millions of times! So cute!
I pretty much hung out with Nicklas or these two girls, since they took a liking to me (Ondrej had to leave before lunch was even close to being served). To pass time, we danced to the blaring music and watched a football/soccer game the kids set up as random horses or cows would mosey on through the polluted landscape.
When it came time to having the lunch, the crackheads came out of nowhere in full force. Most of them were high. If they weren’t, man oh man did they look like they had been to hell and back. Nick and I ate lunch on this sort of jungle gym since there was nowhere else to hold our food. And the stew? One of the most delicious stews EVER. I don’t understand how it had so much flavor! Must have been the plastic fumes! YUM! More kids also joined in, and some families came along with some of their own dishes so they could bring home leftovers.
It was definitely a touching experience, I don’t think these crackheads have ever gotten a touch of help before, and I’m sure they needed some proper food. It was also great
to know that there was more than enough food so that many families could bring some home for later. Many don't have a nutritious nor sufficient supply of their own. I can only imagine how their kids aren’t getting enough of the right kind of food their growing bodies so desperately need.
A Merry Christmas indeed, one that snaps everything into perspective.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.072s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 14; qc: 31; dbt: 0.0328s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
