Football and laughing children in Bucaramanga's north

Bucaramanga

Beauty at second sight, anxious taxi drivers, many contrasts, laughing children and a tireless NGO.

The children from Bucaramanga's north during an afternoon with the NGO "Goles por la Paz".

An hour's flight from Bogota, in the highlands of the Colombian Andes, lies Bucaramanga, "La Ciudad bonita" - the beautiful city. At first glance I don't quite see the beauty. Many of Bucaramanga's streets are dirty, smells of fried food and fresh fruit mix with gasoline, trash and dog poop. Crossing side streets as a pedestrian is a recurring game with death, the pedestrian crossings are mostly used for decoration and traffic lights are only for cars, not for pedestrians.

Nevertheless, there is a lot of beauty to be found in this city if you look closely. On the one hand in the form of the people who live here - but I don't want to get into that. Bucaramanga is surrounded by spectacular landscapes and forests that alternately mix with the 17 different city zones (comunas). The landscape is very varied, due to the large differences in altitude, three different climate zones emerge. If it rains in one place, it is quite possible that the sun will shine in another part of the city. The 17 city zones (comunas) all bring their own facets.

Comuna 14, which is made up of the districts "Morrorico" and "Albania", is worth mentioning. Formerly known as a problem area with a lot of drug trafficking and gang wars, the commune has now developed into Bucaramanga's flagship. The newly constructed paths through the district, from where you can see the whole city, are accompanied by countless graffiti. The quarter is strongly reminiscent of the "Comuna 13" in Medellin, which brings a similar story.

Comuna 14 in Bucaramanga perfectly reflects the city's landscape. Between forests and nature, the houses of the districts are lined up close together. In the Comuna 14 there is also a lot of art in the form of graffiti to look at.

Comunities 1 & 2 together make up northern Bucaramanga. The «Norte» enjoys a bad reputation. Many of the people who live here struggle with unemployment and poverty. Although the neighborhood is considered dangerous and I'm often warned by taxi drivers, I don't see the Barrio Norte as a problem area. The people here are very friendly and open to me, I immediately feel welcome.

Willy Ortiz confirms this impression. Willy has lived here in the north all his life. He saw a lot, including murders. However, these are very few isolated cases. There are no rival gangs here, and you will look in vain for weapons. The drug trade does exist, but on a small scale. The high unemployment rate is also deceptive: many of the people who live in the north run their own businesses, such as local shops, hairdressers or beauty salons. Most of these businesses are not registered, which is why the unemployment rate is higher than it actually is. "Probably about 80% of the trade is unannounced," Willy estimates. But I don't want to sugarcoat the poverty here. Even if almost all of the simple houses are now equipped with water, electricity and even Internet access, many families live on the subsistence level. Where there is a lot of poverty, there is also more theft - so you always have to be careful.

The north is considered to be the poorest area of Bucaramanga. The houses are often covered with tarpaulin roofs, but there is no lack of electricity, water and even internet connections.

Willy emphasizes the strong contrast, which I also immediately notice. In the quarters of the north you will find both simple huts made of wood and tin, but also solidly built and modernly equipped houses. Although people don't own much, practically everyone walks the streets with a smartphone of the latest generation - including the children.

I met Willy through the NGO «Goles por la Paz», which he founded more than 10 years ago together with two friends from England. The Foundation has taken on the important task of making the free time of the children of Bucarmanga's north meaningful. In addition to a wide range of sports, which is run by trained sports trainers and consists mainly of football, this also means support with homework and workshops where important everyday topics are dealt with. The workshops, conducted by psychologists and psychology students, teach children important lessons on topics such as sexual health, healthy eating, substance abuse, hygiene and much more in a playful way. I can assist at the workshops, it's a good way to get to know the children.

But my personal passion is the «Cancha», the sports field. I mainly support the professional sports trainers in implementing the training, but I can also take over and lead smaller sports units myself. I like the great flexibility that you enjoy as a volunteer. I can contribute my own ideas at any time, but sometimes I can just sit on the edge of the field to talk to the children, tell them about my origins and learn more about their everyday life.

The children seem anything but problem children to me. I've never seen so much laughter. The children are curious, ambitious in sports and full of joie de vivre - I like to be infected.

Impressions from my volunteering at "Goles por la Pay" - an NGO that improves the free time of children from Bucaramanga's north.