Barrancabermeja is the unofficial capital of its department, Santander, and lies to the north and a bit east of Bogota. The national oil refinery, Ecopetrol (though in the process of being privatized), forms the backbone of the industry and economy here. Though predominantly industrial, Barranca also has a lively downtown business and shopping district and some pretty parks.
In our neighborhood of Barrio Versalles, I've already found a great little ice cream shop (the passion fruit ice cream beats all the competition!) and a soccer field where I can go jogging. Due to in part to Barranca's extremely low elevation of 246 ft. above sea level, and in part to its proximity to the equator, the climate is perpetually HOT and humid. I'm told it rarely falls below 80 degrees Fahrenheit, and I know it frequently climbs above that. Thankfully tank tops are appropriate attire in nearly all situations! For more information about Barranca, check out its Wikipedia entry, no doubt edited by one of CPT's own at some point :)
CPT, or ECAP as we're known here, set up house in Barranca in 2001 at the invitation of the Colombian Mennonite Church. Initially, our work focused on accompanying communities in the Opon River region who were under threat from guerrilla and paramilitary groups. Some communities were displaced by the violence, and some were eventually able to return. Currently ECAP's accompaniment work takes us to six different regions on a rotation, visiting each community every eight weeks or so. Each different area has its own distinct characteristics and challenges, and I'll be able to write more about each of them once I'm better acquainted with the specific work we do in each place.
For now, I'll wrap it up and get back to you with more later.
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