The Lovenet Organization in La Guajira
Ángela Aguirre Peresson is an entrepreneur, writer and president of the Lovenet Organization.
She initially collaborated with the Xango Goodness Foundation where she generated actions to eradicate hunger in the world and for which she won an international humanitarian award.
Since then, she decided to create this organization to help the communities of La Guajira. In this short interview, Angela talks about the current situation in La Guajira, her work in that department and how a person can help their communities.
The interview below:
What does Lovenet do?
Lovenet wants to remind the world that we are all connected as a network. With that in mind, and with the awareness that love is actions, I decided to create a foundation in order to weave new realities in those places that have suffered from indifference.
In this way, we are creating a network in those forgotten places of our planet, putting a light and bringing hope and results to the less favored people. In this way we create a new reality and awaken the awareness that whatever happens to the most vulnerable communities will also affect us.
Lovenet is currently working in La Guajira, where we find infinite potential to serve and bring positive changes.
We also inspire the civil community and private enterprise to contribute to this new network in order to bring nutrition, water and love to three communities in middle Guajira.
What is the current situation of the communities of La Guajira?
La Guajira is full of contrasts. On the one hand, I saw that the universe had privileged this region with places full of magic, spectacular seas and beaches, and a nature as exotic as it is dazzling. I found a corner of this great planet full of diversity, with a culture full of richness and depth, with fantastic landscapes where I memorized the most beautiful skies I have ever seen in my life.
On the other hand, I saw a people in despair and forgotten, with thousands of people suffering for the scarcity of water and food and above all to be sustainable in time. I could feel their sadness for so many unfulfilled promises and with resignation evident in their eyes. I have seen a Wayúu people as full of creativity as of limitations. It has been painful to see that as a nation we have forgotten so many children and elderly people and a community that is waiting for solidarity and efficient answers to their precarious situation.
Coming to La Guajira and going into the vulnerable communities we work with means getting to know firsthand what separation and selfishness of human beings means, it is to understand what happens when we forget that we are one and when we do not care about the pain of others. It is to get to know the other Colombia that perhaps many want to ignore because it is easier to live in a bubble where we believe that everything is fine as long as nothing happens to us or to our loved ones, it is to recognize that we need to evolve as humanity.
The department of La Guajira is full of potential to grow, to serve and to weave a new reality. I love every person I have met and I must say that they have also received me with a deep love that comes from people who, although they do not have much economically, have everything that really matters: love, pure hearts, a sense of purpose, smiles and the most beautiful thing, the certainty that someday their situation will change with the help of those of us who still believe that there can be a better world.
What has been the work of your foundation in La Guajira?
Our management is currently focused on three communities in La Guajira. We have done different tasks there, from supporting community members with clothes and shoes, and perhaps most importantly, we have brought tons of food and water so that our children can access a nutritional supplement to help them in their development. Lovenet carries nutritional packages called Lovenet Meal Packs, these are a formula of very high nutritional power for first response in cases of malnutrition, they contain all the nutrients for optimal development and can be consumed by children from 1 year of age. It is an excellent help for remote communities that do not have the possibility to cook and who do not have gardens or facilities to access solid food. Lovenet, with its group of volunteers, delivers the donations directly to the communities where it has been working since its inception. Our foundation guarantees the direct delivery of all the food because we do not have intermediaries or external operators for this task.
What do you think of the situation in other departments such as Chocó?
In our country in general there is a lot of injustice, inequality and neglect. It is incredible to see entire populations without access to drinking water and at the same time so much waste and disproportionate spending in other parts of Colombia.
The more I get to know the country, the more I see that many of us have been blind to the contrast. La Guajira and Chocó, among others, have been a very painful mirror to see how we are as humanity, since the reality we see there is a sample of how the hearts of the other inhabitants of our country are.
Lovenet wants to weave a new story in those places so that the independent civil community can be part of the solutions without being so dependent on a state that unfortunately has not given sufficient answers to the major problems of some regions of Colombia.
Does your foundation plan to reach other departments?
We are aware that there is a lot of work to be done in La Guajira, so for the moment we will concentrate our efforts in this needy region of the country.
Which companies have supported your foundation?
Many hearts of civil society and companies have come together to support our cause. However, I want to highlight a great ally which is the Atlantis Plaza Shopping Center, they have not only supported our foundation, but they have been inspired to create and execute a complete program where they contribute not only with water and food but also with infrastructure, education and technology facilities in some communities where Lovenet has a presence. They have been very important to us. We are also supported by the Tramonti restaurant, Pedro Domecq and other allied firms that have made our work grow. Without them it would be impossible to achieve this network.
How can one person help the communities of La Guajira through your foundation?
We can all be part of the solution! The first thing is to understand that we are all connected and that what happens to one, happens to all. That is where we begin to solve the very serious problems of humanity’s perception of separation. Aside from having this awareness, you can support us by buying food and water vouchers for a week or a month for our children. You can also buy school kits consisting of a backpack with school supplies. You can contact us at the Atlantis Plaza Shopping Center in Bogota and on our website www.lovenet.org.
By: Juan Carlos Martínez Castro
Source: http://blogs.eltiempo.com/digital-jumper/2017/12/12/conozca-la-labor-realiza-la-fundacion-lovenet-la-guajira