Two recent press articles are helping to spread the word about Project Mingueo….
Colombian’s helpline for homeland (From the ‘Northern Scot’, published March 05, 2010)
A COLOMBIAN-born woman is raising money in Moray to help remedy a decades-long crisis in her homeland that she describes as “an invisible tragedy”.
Fabiola Fuentes, who now lives in Forres, said many Colombian people have been subjected to violence and have suffered a long list of social and economic problems for more than 40 years. It has resulted in thousands fleeing their homes, she said, to escape warring armed groups. “What is happening in Colombia is an invisible tragedy because we have been labelled as a drug country. People in other countries cannot see what is really going on there,” Ms Fuentes said. Ms Fuentes has lived in Moray for the past three years, having moved to England 10 years ago to find charities that would support poor communities back in Colombia. She now runs courses in Moray on a technique known as Nonviolent Communication, which is geared towards helping people resolve conflict without violence. She then uses the money raised from hosting those sessions to help displaced people back in Colombia. Last year, she travelled to the South American country twice to distribute the cash. According to Ms Fuentes, the communities she works with in Colombia have faced “horrendous situations” and serious violations of their human rights. “It includes the right to life, massacres, killings, forced displacement, rape, extortion and living in a threatening atmosphere in the areas where they have settled,” she continued.
The full article can be found online: http://www.northern-scot.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/9497/Colombian_s_helpline_for_homeland.html
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Non-violent communication workshop to be held at forres (From the Press and Journal, Feb 26, 2010)
DISPLACED people in Colombia will benefit from a two-day peace course in Moray this weekend.
The workshop, called Non Violent Communication, is being led by Colombian-born Fabiola Fuentes, who now lives at Forres. Non Violent Communication stems from a global network of people and communities committed to living and teaching the subject to resolve conflict and meet the needs of all people. Ms Fuentes, 48, is a self-employed certified trainer who aims to raise awareness and funds to help displaced people in her homeland. She runs weekly workshops at her home at Beeches Cottage, Forres, and five weekend courses to help fund various projects in her home city of Valledupar, in north-east Colombia. She said: “I came to Britain 10 years ago because I wanted to find charities and bring some money back to Colombia.”
The full article can be found online at: http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1622695?UserKey=#ixzz0hm8ghlg3
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Fabiola Fuentes is running Project Mingueo to bring hope and relief to the underprivileged communities of Valledupar; the project is being documented in our film ‘Where there is hope’ .
NB, SLTD, STF
