Churches accompany ex-combatant communities through delicate peace process

21 Dec 2018
Mayerlis serves woman leader Aida a meal of sarapa – rice and chicken wrapped in a Cachibou leaf. Photo: LWF/Albin Hillert

Mayerlis serves woman leader Aida a meal of sarapa – rice and chicken wrapped in a Cachibou leaf. Photo: LWF/Albin Hillert

FARC ex-combatants live fragile peace in Colombia

(LWI) In the far northwest – long one of the country’s most precarious regions – the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Colombia IELCO) supports communities through a difficult and slow-moving peace process, to sustain peaceful efforts, and alleviate the risk of relapse into violent conflict.

Accompanying more than 300 families in the Antioquia area, ‘De la Guerra a la Paz’ is a project of IELCO, which is part of the global ecumenical initiative ‘Waking the Giant’, of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF). Officially launched in Colombia in November 2018, ‘Waking the Giant’ brings together an emerging platform of churches from a dozen Christian traditions in Colombia, in joint efforts to help achieve the United Nations’ Agenda 2030, not least through the Sustainable Development Goal on peace, justice and strong institutions.

Peace is a big concept. Peace is education, peace is health, peace is life in dignity
Edwin Mosquera, project coordinator of De la Guerra a la Paz

All photos: LWF/Albin Hillert

LWF/OCS