I am from San Vicente de Chucurí, land of valuable fruits. We are peasants; We live off agriculture and thank God we had food during the pandemic; but in our municipality there are also very poor, very vulnerable families. The situation being experienced in the country and worldwide made jobs come to an end and many did not have basic sustenance to buy food," affirmed Luis Alfredo Sánchez, president of the Community Action Board of the Mérida district, municipality of San Vicente de Chucurí, in Santander.
The situation in Santa Sofía, Boyacá, is remarkably similar. This is how Francisco Rojas, secretary of Planning of the municipality, tells it: “People live off tomatoes, but agriculture suffered a severe crisis when the municipality was closed… and many ended jobless. The situation became increasingly complex for many, especially for people with disabilities and for the victims of the conflict”.
Like Luis and Francisco, leaders of the communities settled in the territories, and the representatives of the local governments where TGI has a presence, turned to the company during the pandemic, since on many occasions, the families of their communities suffered great food needs.
In agreement with the municipalities and with the help of community leaders and community action boards, TGI selected the families most in need and who had not received other types of aid.
“The income of many people was affected; many could not do their jobs or have a livelihood. That is why we showed our solidarity with them, we decided to support them and try to mitigate those devastating effects caused by the pandemic”, explains Diana Uribe, a social professional from TGI's Subdirectorate for Social Management.
Each mayor was in charge of planning the logistics for the delivery of the aid, which brought very complete groceries with vegetable oil, rice, sugar, coffee, chocolate, beans, corn flour, powdered milk, lentils, tuna loin, panela, pasta, salt and wheat flour, “packed in sealed boxes, complying with the due biosafety protocol, and when the community approached to receive the food kit, their smiles and diverse expressions of gratitude confirmed that this was the best way to be united in this difficult time. Today the smiles of those 10,000 families are part of TGI's history,” affirmed Diana with joy.
“For this reason, all of us Chucureños are incredibly grateful to TGI, because their gesture of solidarity was very great and surprising. I still meet families who received the help and are still grateful for the market received by the company. That is why I never stop telling you: Thank you TGI!”, added Luis Alfredo.
He, as a leader, is convinced that there is a lot that they can do from their community when they work hand in hand with the companies, because thanks to these alliances they now have rural gasification and they have been given different training. He dreams of having basic sanitation, continuing to protect his water sources, improving roads, having a telephone signal, and learning how to set up a productive project with TGI.
Humanitarian aid reached many regions of Colombia. Carlos Roberto Montes, president of the JAC of the Puente Nacional municipality, in Santander, accompanied the process and prioritized the delivery of aid to adults over 70 who were unable to mobilize during the pandemic to seek sustenance for their basic needs.
Rosa Elena Rodríguez Barrios, president of the JAC of the El Tropezón district, in Norte de Santander, was in charge, together with the Mayor's Office of La Esperanza, to check that the kits were delivered to families who ended up jobless due to the pandemic, in order to mitigate the situation of vulnerability they were experiencing.
In La Guajira, community leaders were also key in the process. Mariseli Bolívar, spokeswoman for the Guaimarito community, from the Hatonuevo municipality, accompanied the deliveries. “In any need or difficulty arising in my community, there I am, but without TGI it would have never been possible to bring this help. We are all incredibly grateful, especially the indigenous communities,” she affirmed.
