2008.10.11: October 11, 2008: Headlines: COS - Colombia: Directors - Vasquez: Figures: Directors: United Nations: Diplomacy: ReliefWeb: Gaddi Vasquez visits Colombia
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2008.10.11: October 11, 2008: Headlines: COS - Colombia: Directors - Vasquez: Figures: Directors: United Nations: Diplomacy: ReliefWeb: Gaddi Vasquez visits Colombia
Gaddi Vasquez visits Colombia
Vasquez recently visited several communities in Colombia populated by poor, indigenous people displaced from their homes in other parts of the country by years of domestic conflict. He was accompanied by seven Latin American journalists interested in seeing firsthand the effects that public-private food aid partnerships are having on people who are chronically malnourished. Former Peace Corps Director Gaddi H. Vasquez is U.S. ambassador to U.N. food agencies based in Rome.
Gaddi Vasquez visits Colombia
Colombia's government, nonprofit groups assist in distribution
By Kathryn McConnell
Staff Writer
Washington — In Soacha, a poor neighborhood built in a once-forested mountain area outside Bogota, Colombia, a 64-year-old woman mixes locally grown food with lentils and vegetable oil donated by the United States to make nutritious lunches for her community's schoolchildren.
In the same neighborhood, a local man teaches the students about the importance of agriculture in a shared garden supported by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
The projects are two examples that show how food aid donated and distributed cooperatively by the United States and the United Nations and in coordination with Colombia's government and nonprofit groups is helping poor, vulnerable groups of people in Colombia improve their lives and gain hope for the future.
"Food should always be a part" of efforts to end the "vicious cycle" of poverty, Gaddi Vasquez, U.S. ambassador to the U.N. agencies in Rome, said in the State Department's DipNote blog.
Vasquez recently visited several communities in Colombia populated by poor, indigenous people displaced from their homes in other parts of the country by years of domestic conflict. He was accompanied by seven Latin American journalists interested in seeing firsthand the effects that public-private food aid partnerships are having on people who are chronically malnourished.
Indigenous people comprise 3 percent of Colombia's population but more than 6 percent of the country's displaced residents, Vasquez said.
He said food aid from the United Nations and United States is helping these people re-establish their lives while maintaining their traditional culture.
Speaking to America.gov, Vasquez described visiting a young, displaced man now living outside Cartagena. With support from the U.S. Agency for International Development, the man was able to build a small sausage factory that now employs 12 people and is providing food to the community. It has transformed the man's life, Vasquez said.
"It's a small thing but very significant, because it is sustainable entrepreneurship and is providing jobs," he said.
Another man who received training supported by the U.N. World Food Programme was able to open a small market in a neighborhood of displaced people. He proudly named his store after Colombia's football team.
Vasquez also visited a community in San Basilio de Palenque, recognized by the United Nations as a cultural heritage site. With assistance from the U.N.'s International Fund for Agricultural Development, residents have created a small business that makes and sells traditional sweets.
Vasquez described a program for mothers using food donated by the United States and delivered through the World Food Programme. The food attracts mothers to a clinic where they learn about nutrition so they can keep their infants healthy.
At a World Food Programme-supported vocational center, the mothers learn skills that can lead to jobs in such areas as baking and hairdressing. The center helps them establish their own small businesses.
"People are taking ownership and taking responsibility" for turning their lives around, Vasquez said.
The United States demonstrates its commitment to global humanitarian aid through donations to the U.N. food agencies and through direct efforts of the State Department, the U.S. Agency for International Development and other U.S. agencies.
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Headlines: October, 2008; Gaddi Vasquez; Peace Corps Colombia; Directory of Colombia RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Colombia RPCVs; Gaddi Vasquez (Director 2002 - 2006); Figures; Peace Corps Directors; United Nations; Diplomacy
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