We are currently living in the San Francisco district in Cartagena, Colombia. It is the most famous Ghetto in Cartagena because of its gang history. San Francisco was home to the first gangs in Cartagena and is famous for having the most violent gangs in the entire city. For 90% of the boys in the city gangs are not option, but a (the) way of life.
Most of the families in this neighborhood have between 3 and 6 children. Having a big family doesn’t mean that the parents put more effort into providing for their families. The families often provide the bare minimum. This means some food most days and a new pair of clothing around two times a year. The families are poor and providing for the children is last thing on the list. Many of the children don’t even have shoes, but walk around in bare feet even though there is broken glass, sharp rocks, and garbage lining all of the streets.
Many of the parents are also abusive which causes the kids to leave home, or spend as little time at home as possible. This means that the kids are out on the streets and have to fend for themselves. The kids will typically try and imitate the older boys that they think are cool. This means that they start drugs, join gangs, and become thieves at a young age, typically around 8. Most of these boys are immediately hooked once they step into this lifestyle because it is something that fills a void in their life. For the first time these boys feel like they are a part of something. They feel like they are a part of a family, because that is what a gang is. It is an incredibly tight knit community. By this I mean that everything is shared. If one steals it becomes the gangs. Everyone gets a share.
Gangs become the source of everything for these boys. It is a source of food, drugs, material possessions, and protection. It also become a source of physical pleasure. Many of the gangs associate with different prostitution groups (sadly girls here start to get into prostitution around the age of 13).
This month we are working with the street children that are between the ages of 6-18. We are working in the heart of the Ghetto which isn’t exactly the safest place. On our first day one of our girls was robbed (had her necklace ripped off her neck) and saw a gang fight where a knife was pulled. There have been countless gang fights since then, a few more robberies, and we even heard about someone being shot. You may be thinking why would we ever be in such a dangerous neighborhood? Let me assure you that we are safe as long as we adhere to all of the strict rules that were given to us.
This month we are teaching these kids that gangs are not the only option. We are showing them how gangs can be destructive to their lives and that they could easily wind up dead or in Jail (seven youth from the area have been put in jail in our first week here. Many were armed robbery).
Since the main thing these kids are lacking is love, that is exactly what we are providing them with. We do this through playing soccer with them, learning their names, performing skits, and teaching them English. We are doing these things with a selfless man who started the Alex Rocha Foundation. It has been a blessing to show these kids that gangs are not the only thing out there for them. Gangs may be the easiest option here, but with the help of Alex Rocha there is still hope for dramatic change in the lives of these children.
