One day, suddenly, I received an invitation that filled me with immense joy. The Charlene Richard Foundation of which I am a member was inviting me to the city of Manizales, Colombia to share part of my experience in the children's dining room that works in my city and that bears the name of this little girl Charlene from Lousiana USA, who at the age of twelve died of a strong disease, but leaving a beautiful message.
Y así llegó el día de preparar maletas para el viaje; abrigos, bufandas, jeans y zapatos cómodos, el clima que nos recibiría sería muy frio. Nos esperaban muchas horas de viaje por carretera y mi corazón latía de emoción. Ya en el bus y pidiendo que todo saliera bien partimos en misión, viajamos toda la noche, al día siguiente llegamos al terminal de San Cristóbal y allí nos esperaban para trasladarnos a Cúcuta.
And so the day came to pack for the trip; coats, scarves, jeans and comfortable shoes, the weather that would receive us would be very cold. Many hours of road travel awaited us and my heart was beating with excitement. Already on the bus and asking for everything to go well we left on mission, we traveled all night, the next day we arrived at the terminal of San Cristobal and there they were waiting for us to take us to Cucuta.
Abordamos el taxi y viajamos por unos paisajes frescos y hermosos, al medio día ya estábamos en la ciudad de Cúcuta donde nos informaron que el bus a Bogotá salía en la tarde, así que tuvimos unas horas para descansar, comernos un helado y cerca de la hora nos embarcamos en un taxi apurados porque se nos hacía tarde y podíamos perder el bus, uff!!! que carreras dimos. De camino a Bogotá ya más relajados dormimos en el bus, otra noche más durmiendo sentados pero emocionados por llegar y por todo lo que nos esperaba y también inmensamente agradecidos.
We boarded the cab and traveled through a cool and beautiful landscapes, at noon we were already in the city of Cucuta where we were informed that the bus to Bogota was leaving in the afternoon, so we had a few hours to rest, eat an ice cream and near the time we embarked in a cab in a hurry because we were late and we could miss the bus, uff!! that runs runs we gave. On the way to Bogota and more relaxed we slept on the bus, another night sleeping seated but excited to arrive and for everything that awaited us and also immensely grateful.
Luego de muchas horas de viaje comenzamos a ver una ciudad hermosa y alegre que nos recibía con mucho frío y nos mostraba su modernismo, sus calles limpias, casas y comercios en construcciones armónicas, bellos paisajes urbanos y naturales que se quedarán en nuestra mente. Lastimosamente sólo pudimos conocer la vía hacia el terminal, donde al llegar nos tocó esperar muchas horas para la salida del próximo bus a nuestro destino: Manizales.
After many hours of travel we began to see a beautiful and cheerful city that welcomed us with a lot of cold and showed us its modernism, its clean streets, houses and stores in harmonic constructions, beautiful urban and natural landscapes that will remain in our minds. Unfortunately we could only see the road to the terminal, where we had to wait many hours for the departure of the next bus to our destination: Manizales.
Mientras esperábamos conocí a un chico muy joven que llevaba una guitarra, le pregunté si tocaba y me dijo que si, que él y sus hermanos tenían un grupo que tocaba música en su pueblo y que se dirigía allí. También me contó con tristeza que debido a una lesión ya no podía jugar fútbol lo cual había sido su pasión y había salido de su pueblo a buscar un futuro como deportista para ayudar a su mamá y hermanos, pero que lamentable ya no podría ser y con una gran sonrisa en su rostro me dijo que se dedicaría a la música con sus hermanos, en ese momento salía su bus y se despidió de mi, conocí luego a una señora que se sentó a mi lado y me contó que se había quedado sin empleo y que pasaría allí la noche en el terminal si los guardias se lo permitan, me regaló un yogurt que le habían dado los niños a quienes hasta hace unas horas se había encargado de cuidar, con lágrimas en los ojos me dijo que no tenía dónde pasar la noche, la habían despedido injustamente y no conocía a nadie más allí.
While we were waiting I met a very young boy carrying a guitar, I asked him if he played and he told me that he did, that he and his brothers had a group that played music in his town and that he was going there. He also told me sadly that due to an injury he could no longer play soccer which had been his passion and had left his town to seek a future as an athlete to help his mother and brothers, but that unfortunately it could no longer be and with a big smile on his face he told me that he would dedicate himself to music with his brothers, at that moment his bus was leaving and he said goodbye to me, Then I met a lady who sat next to me and told me that she had lost her job and that she would spend the night at the terminal if the guards allowed her to do so, she gave me a yogurt that the children she had been taking care of until a few hours ago had given her, with tears in her eyes she told me that she had nowhere to spend the night, she had been unfairly fired and she did not know anyone else there.
Cuántas personas pasan por un terminal, muchas van y vienen, cada una con una historia, yo pude conocer dos. Nos avisaron que ya estaba por salir nuestro bus y nos embarcamos, otra noche de viaje, ya faltaban menos horas para llegar a nuestro destino. A la mañana siguiente y luego de interminables horas de viaje llegamos, nos esperaban en el terminal para llevarnos a la casa de paso de Fundación Charlene, qué emoción al llegar y conocer un lugar del cual había oído hablar muchas veces, y del cual quedé enamorada.
How many people pass through a terminal, many come and go, each one with a story, I was able to meet two of them. They told us that our bus was about to leave and we got on board, another night of travel, there were less hours left to reach our destination. The next morning and after endless hours of travel we arrived, they were waiting for us at the terminal to take us to the house of Fundación Charlene, what a thrill to arrive and meet a place of which I had heard many times, and of which I fell in love.
Una construcción fuerte de ladrillos a un lado de la vía nos recibió, una casa hecha para recibir y dar ayuda a personas que lo necesiten. Conocimos las instalaciones de la casa y de allí nos fuimos a la escuela cercana a conocer a los niños y llevarles un pequeño mensaje y compartir con ellos una merienda, al día siguiente nos fuimos al aeropuerto a recibir a un amigo que se unía al equipo, fue un emotivo reencuentro. Nos dispusimos a prepararnos para un encuentro donde daríamos a conocer nuestro comedor infantil y las experiencias que hemos vivido en año y medio de alegrías con los niños que reciben los alimentos y que son el tesoro de nuestro comedor.
A strong brick building on the side of the road welcomed us, a house made to receive and give help to people in need. We visited the facilities of the house and from there we went to the nearby school to meet the children and take them a little message and share a snack with them, the next day we went to the airport to welcome a friend who was joining the team, it was an emotional reunion. We set out to prepare for a meeting where we would present our children's dining room and the experiences we have lived in a year and a half of joy with the children who receive the food and who are the treasure of our dining room.
Terminado el encuentro visitamos la hermosa catedral de Manizales de allí salimos a cenar y luego a descansar, al día siguiente comenzaba nuestro viaje de regreso. Fueron muchas emociones vividas, muchas horas de viaje, pero muchísima gratitud en nuestros corazones por haber vivido tan grata experiencia en un país que nos recibió con respeto y cordialidad. Un viaje de aprendizajes, alegrías, encuentros, amistad, abrazos y despedidas. Un viaje para crecer y agradecer. Las maletas siguen listas para la próxima misión. Gracias Colombia!!!!
After the meeting we visited the beautiful cathedral of Manizales, from there we went to dinner and then to rest, the next day we started our return trip. There were many emotions lived, many hours of travel, but a lot of gratitude in our hearts for having lived such a pleasant experience in a country that received us with respect and cordiality. A trip of learning, joys, encounters, friendship, hugs and farewells. A trip to grow and be thankful for. The suitcases are still ready for the next mission. Thank you Colombia!!!!
- Translation: DeepL translate
- Photography: Por mí /By myself
- English is not my native language, I apologize for possible errors in the translation.
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Bello lugar
Siii!!Definitivamente
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Fabuloso paseo @lissettortega, es un especial viaje por Manizales. Lo encuentros con las amistades enaltecen la autoestima.
@hiramdo así es, alegran el alma.