Crafts of werregue, cane arrow and chaquiras, edible quinoa, jewelry, flower arrangements, notebooks, achiras, were offered today by the victims to the attendees of entrepreneurship Fair that was part of a public-private strategic alliance.

In 14 points of exhibition and sale, several families, groups and single people, victims of armed conflict, offered their products to the attendees of Entrepreneurship Fair that took place as part of Restoring Dreams project of the private company Terpel and the Victims Unit.

The event was held in Terpel facilities in Bogotá, which called on its employees and members of other companies located in the same building north of the city, who not only bought products but also learned about the victims' stories.

Luz Amparo Oviedo was in one of stands located on the wide terrace and offered her QUIRA products: quinoa mix, amaranth, barley, brown rice and quinoa. "I like to dedicate myself to ancestral foods, which existed before the colony and people had already lost that culture", she says, displaced by armed conflict, which has been dedicated to these products since 2014.

Maritza is another displaced, she left Huila to the capital of the country where she makes Achiras and corn cakes, tambourines and organic cacao. "This Fair gives us the opportunity to the victims to know our regions", she says.

The Deputy Director of Unit, Viviana Ferro, explains that the alliance with Terpel is part of various strategic alliances: "We have developed letters of understanding with the private sector, which allow us to make visible the work of some victims, their strength and resilience to continue building their way of life, generate economic stabilization and restore their rights. The expectation is to move forward with other companies such as the Federation of Coffee Growers, Ecopetrol and other companies in the energy mining sector".

For her part, Andrea Cher, Director of Corporate Affairs of Terpel, explained what this strategy consists of: "The Restoring Dreams program embraces all current initiatives on issues of peace reconstruction and reconciliation. We have been doing these fairs for four years with reinserted and this is the first with the Victims Unit, to honor our partnership to work together".

The Color and Hope for Our Children Foundation, composed of 50 mothers of members of  Public Force killed in combat, was present in two positions: lingerie for bathrooms and notebooks made with recycled materials. They received a pleasant surprise when one of the employees of Terpel announced that they would give them a good amount of fabrics to make their products.

Gladys Acevedo López, mother of a murdered soldier, expressed her satisfaction in this regard: "Thank God our children brought us an angel that will donate some threads and fabrics with which they will make decorative home accessories".

(FIN/DRR/DFM)