Isabel Rodriguez has been working for Malteser International in the remote areas of northern Colombia for four years. With her work, Isa wants to make people capable of surviving again and sustainably strengthen the region. She recently shared more about her work with Malteser International Americas and the situation in northern Colombia.

The picturesque view of the two Caribbean provinces of Magdalena and La Guajira at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountain range of Santa Marta is breathtaking. At first glance, it can easily obscure how isolated people live in this region. Many residents are in urgent need of help.

"The region is beautiful. Everything is full of flowers and fruits. Isabel mentions that is due to pollination. I have a special place in my heart for the Linares family. They are one of the participants in our smallholders' aid program. Luz lives with her husband Jairo and her son Mario in a small country house in La Guajira, a remote region in northern Colombia. She enjoys her work as a beekeeper. And I am very happy to see how they have taken advantage of this piece of land. They have organized it very nice, both the fields and the fish ponds, and the livestock," said Isabel.

Regardless of how positive their lives appear now with the success of their beekeeping, Isabel mentions that it is hard to believe what the family had to endure. The family is one of the 7.4 million internally displaced persons in their own country. During their years of fleeing the fighting between paramilitaries, guerrilla groups and government units, the displaced have often lost everything they had. Most of them have repeatedly witnessed violence, killings, further displacement, and destruction.

For four years, Isabel has worked with the people in La Guajira and Magdalena. Most of the inhabitants, like Luz and Jairo, are refugee peasants, poor people who have fled Venezuela because of the crisis, or indigenous peoples such as Wayuu. To this day, people are discriminated against by the population and politics. Instead of helpfulness they often encounter prejudices and disadvantages.

With the support of Malteser International Americas and through Malteser Colombia, Isabel helps to meet the needs of the people. This includes health brigades, emergency relief days, training workshops to make communities more resilient and strengthened, but also sustainable aid projects that offer long-term opportunities, among other measures.

For example, after seven bee species were recently added to the list of endangered species, Luz and Jairo rely entirely on the breeding of bees. The beekeeper couple and more than 100 other people are among the participants in our skills development program for small farmers.

The sale of honey not only gives farmers extra income, but it also contributes to a more diverse yield in the region. With their pollination, the bees ensure that the local ecosystem can recover. In addition to seeds and seedlings, for example for fruit trees such as mango, guava and plantains, we teach farmers best-practices in farming. They learn how they can sustainably plant and use their land despite the unfavorable soil and also during prolonged periods of drought.

For Isabel, she especially enjoys seeing how farmers pass what they have learned through our programs on to other farmers. They play a role as multipliers, or advocates, teaching their skills, and thereby strengthen their community. Stories like that of Luz and Jairo underscore the critical nature of Malteser International Americas' programs.