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Our Story: Mother to Mother Campaign from Inclusion for Humanity
3 months ago, I traveled from the Washington, DC area to Cali, Colombia alongside Jorge Yepes of Inclusion for Humanity to interview Monica Mosquera about an all women's fish-farming initiative. Monica is the head of two all-women collectives that represent the interests of over 150 Afro-Colombian single mothers in the city of Buenaventura. These 150 women are determined heads of household who support families that average 5-6 people. They catch and clean fish and market them to nearby restaurants and sell them to be shipped for international markets. Others cook and sell the famous cuisine of Colombia's Pacific Coast to any tourists who come to the city's beaches. Despite limited resources, the women of Buenaventura use their creativity and broad range of skills to make products such as the wine, Vino De Naidy, Don Bla, a sweet wine made from the acai fruit featured in the photo with the donation perk, the anthology, Songs of Yemaya.
Shut out of the larger economy and with little access to capital, these women make meager earnings due to the impact of global warming on fish supply and ongoing violence from drug trafficking. As a result, poverty is a mainstay in the daily lives despite the creativity and ingenuity.
And then COVID-19 hit, making an already dire situation almost impossible. Beaches are now closed and so are the opportunities for women to support their families.
Local grass roots leaders Monica Mosquera and John Montano have many depending on them to help get resources. Your donations will go directly to both collectives, The Association of Women Entrepreneurs of Bazan-Bocana and the Environmental Corporation for Territorial Development . It will help the 150 women provide food and essentials for their families in this time of crisis, impacting roughly 750 people.
Your Contribution:
All DONATIONS ARE WELCOME, but for all donations of the $30 dollar and above giving level, you will receive a signed copy or copies of the anthology, Songs of Yemaya, a collection of Black women's stories from around the world, a perfect Mother's Day gift that supports mothers in the Pacific region of Colombia.
To receive copies of anthology, please provide email address when donating.
***Special Note: The giving levels have been set according to package levels offered by many of the supermarkets in Colombia for people to buy food during the crisis.
A Little Peek into Buenaventura
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