The Victims Unit delivered to the Association of Afro Women for Peace (Afromupaz) a minibus that will transport young people from their homes to the school and to “El Tambo” where they study various artistic expressions.

The excitement was evident in the second-floor hall of El Tambo, the three-story building, located in Usme, south of Bogotá, to which Afromupaz members go to strengthen their artistic skills and the “family” ties that have developed among all.

"Blessings, blessings", "thank you very much, thank you very much", Victims Unit, Victims Unit ", Amen, Amen", "we are not leaving today, we are not leaving today", young men and women sang, to the rhythm of salsa shock, with dazzling smiles on their faces and an obvious happiness that combined with the multicolored pints that many wore.

Each phrase was sung about 10 times at different times during the protocol delivery ceremony of the Mercedes Benz minibus, Sprinter 515-line, model 2020, white color with capacity for 20 passengers, which took place in the second-floor hall this Friday.

They are the sons and daughters of women affected by the armed conflict, who moved with their offspring from various rural parts of the country and who in Afromupaz found belonging to race, culture, joy, large family, in this cold Bogotá and of concrete that has been receiving them for years.

They are about 140 young people who formed a group called Adinkra in which they rescue not only their own values ​​but the Africans and develop their capacities for dance, singing, theater, painting, create their own rhythms, their own works, their own expressions.

They are the most benefited with the vehicle, whose value is close to $ 250 million, which the Victim Unit delivered to them. It was a need that everyone in Afromupaz felt: protect young people and prevent risks even from recruiting illegal armed groups.

For this, door-to-door transportation is essential, from their homes to the school and from their homes to the Afromupaz foundation that operates in the Tambo, a name they gave to the house to remember how they were told in the department of Chocó to the homes of some of its members.

"The emotion of these young people, explains the need for guarantees, security they had, I do not know how to explain this, I want to cry, since we were announced that they would give us this Van, three months ago, we have not stopped celebrating, Every Friday we celebrate. It is very important for our children, especially about 70 or 80 because many have to walk long distances from other locations and are exposed to many risks, including recruitment, many thanks to the Victims Unit because it was the only entity that supported us with this”, said Maria Eugenia Urrutia excitedly, legal representative of Afromupaz.

Carol Julieth Palomeque, arrived in Bogotá six years ago, with her mother and three brothers and today she was happy. “For me it is spectacular, we had to walk half an hour from the house to El Tambo. I live in Santa Rosa, on July 20, locality 20”.

July Stefany Moreno, too. “It is important because we are going to stop walking from our neighborhood, and it is very dangerous where we sometimes go, and there are days that we could not come because we did not have the $ 1500 for transportation. This is a dream".

After the signatures of rigor to formalize the delivery of the vehicle, the excitement was in the street, opening it, all going up in time, trying to understand it, to know how it works. They were happy taking photos next to the minibus and still posing for the cameras of the Unit dancing salsa clash with that style in which they do not stop moving a single muscle of the body.

As María Eugenia Urrutia said "they are the joy of Afromupaz and we will continue to prepare them academically and artistically because they want to continue generating transformations."

(End/DRR/MPA/DFM)