Day 5 (February 21, 2023):

Please check back later.

This shows the proximity of Bocachica to Cartagena (blue dot). It was a 20-minute speedboat ride each way.

About to leave Cartagena for Bocachica at 8:30AM.

The view of Old Cartagena as we left the port reminded us of Venice.

This is one of the three boats that had been organized to transport us from Cartagena to Bocachica. The church which runs the Compassion project we went to visit has set up a business to transport people back and forth between Cartagena and the island, as a means of raising funds.

A statue of Mary and Baby Jesus guards the entrance to Cartagena’s port.

Another of the three speedboats in our group, as we approached Bocachica.

And that was our welcome committee at the pier!

The youth at the church performed for us to start our morning together.

Moms and their babies in the Child Survival Program at the Compassion project. They have 20 young mothers in the program, which teaches baby care skills to mothers and provides a play environment.

This cute little fellow really took to Pam!

Two of the boys in the Child Sponsorship program really took an interest in the camera and lens owned by Tommy, husband of our Compassion CEO.

Pam doing phonics with students in the Child Sponsorship Program.

The 7-9 year-olds have an entrepreneurship project, in which they make candy sticks and sell them. 30% of the sales is to cover costs, and 70% goes into an account for each child to put towards an item they are dreaming of. What a brilliant idea to teach entrepreneurial skills at such a young age!

That’s Alvaro, making candy sticks. Before we left the hotel, a number of packets were handed out for children at the Bocachica project who remain unsponsored. The packet for seven-year-old Alvaro really caught our attention. So we agreed that, if Alvaro was at the project site today, that would be a sign that we were meant to sponsor him. Sure enough, he was there!

Alvaro was called out of the candy stick production line to meet us. We aren’t fully certain that he understood what having a “sponsor” meant. But, at least we got to meet him. That is a very rare and powerful way to start a relationship with a sponsored child.

We bumped into Alvaro later on, as he was walking to a friend’s house with his lunch from the Compassion project, and carrying his candy sticks to sell.

We all broke up into small groups and went to visit the homes of some people who receive support from the Compassion project. I went to this home, where the mom had a newborn and a 10-year old. She participates in the Child Survival Program.

Meanwhile, Pam went to another humble home, where the woman she visited buys coal in Cartagena and sells it in Bocachica to make money.

They don’t have much, but there were so many smiles.

Bocachica has hardly any water - this community well being an exception. Water is brought in by vendors, but they tend to sell it to the couple of hotels on the other side of the island, as they pay more money. Things got so bad recently that the Colombian navy had to send in a ship with water, as the community had gone without water for six weeks.

As we were preparing to leave, this man on the pier had caught what we think was a barracuda.

The farewell party waving good-bye from the pier as we pulled away in our speedboats.

The impressive Cartagena skyline from out on the open water.

A tall ship of the Colombian Navy, with two Colombian Coast Guard vessels moored next to it.

The southeast corner of the old city walls, with the white dome of the San Pedro Claver Sanctuary and the bell towers of the Church of San Antonio Claver Reloj.