In August 2019, Cartagena Paws went to Villa Gloria, a neighborhood in Cartagena. We worked with a foundation, Serena del Mar, that does Saturday educational events with kids from the neighborhood to teach them applicable job skills. Participants ranged from ages 7-18.
The event began with a presentation on what is Cartagena Paws and its mission. The group was then split in two between younger and older kids. The older kids had a presentation on what are animals needs and animals emotions. They also discussed situations they had seen of animal abuse in their community and ways in which they can break the cycle of abuse, especially with same age peers. The younger group did a Clifford read aloud, focusing on animal behaviors. Then, they did interactive play with stuffed animals showing how they see others act with animals and what ways they should interact with animals.
The kids created a handprint tree on a prominent wall in the community to "deja tu huella" or "leave your mark". This wall will serve as a reminder of what they learned and a talking point for the community.
The event began with a presentation on what is Cartagena Paws and its mission. The group was then split in two between younger and older kids. The older kids had a presentation on what are animals needs and animals emotions. They also discussed situations they had seen of animal abuse in their community and ways in which they can break the cycle of abuse, especially with same age peers. The younger group did a Clifford read aloud, focusing on animal behaviors. Then, they did interactive play with stuffed animals showing how they see others act with animals and what ways they should interact with animals.
The kids created a handprint tree on a prominent wall in the community to "deja tu huella" or "leave your mark". This wall will serve as a reminder of what they learned and a talking point for the community.
Photo credit to volunteers at the event.
Thank you to our volunteers: Kate and Sam.
Changing Perspectives
A personal essay by Stephanie Hartman
We drove to Villa Gloria along the coast line because there are no roads to access the small town. As we passed small fishing huts with nets hanging on the porches taking in the sun to dry, I noticed the striking differences between where we were now and what we had just left. Cartagena has three distinct spheres: bustlingly, swanky Centro and Bocagrande with the walled city and penetrating skyscrapers, the sprawling expanse of neighborhoods with multifamily houses and local tiendas, and the crumbling, dilapidated towns that serve as the backbone for the fishing and tourism industry. We were in one of those towns.
We had come to Villa Gloria to teach the local children about animal welfare. You see, Colombia shares a very different view from that of the United States on how animals, such as cats and dogs, should be treated. While my dog sleeps in my bed at night and is ambushed with kisses daily, the animals in towns like Villa Gloria are routinely starved, kicked, and doused with boiling water if they are near a shop or residence. Our hope was to educate the town’s youngest residents in the idea that animals feel just like humans and how to care for animals in your neighborhood.
As a non-profit in Cartagena, our mission is to rescue, rehabilitate, and adopt animals, while also providing educational services and animal welfare services to Cartagena and the surrounding areas. There are estimated to be 400,000 strays in Cartagena currently. Each month, we find a neighborhood in need of food, vaccinations, and sterilization services for the growing stray population. We send out volunteers to hold educational events for both kids and adults on animal welfare, animals’ needs, and how to care for the animals in your community.
Here in Villa Gloria we started by sharing our mission. Children from the neighborhood sat around in the one room schoolhouse. They listened as volunteer Cartageneros shared why their perspectives changed on animals, focusing on the realization that animals feel emotions in the same ways humans do. The children shared their own positive experiences with animals to highlight the frequency and universality of these interactions. They also shared examples of mistreatment they’ve seen around the town. It pains me now to recall their tiny voices speaking of such neglect and abuse at the hands of their neighbors.
Afterwards, we read books on how to care for animals and role played. Their faces lit up as they held the stuffed dogs and cats, chickens and pigs, replicas of the animals they encounter daily. Some enthusiastic, some reserved, each eventually took a turn acting out how they would interact normally with that animal and shared ways they could help them in the future.
We also talked about the ways they could impact the treatment of animals in the town. How they could care for animals without spending money. How they could not be a bystander to situations of abuse. How they could shape the future for animals in their community.
As we were leaving Villa Gloria, we wanted to leave one lasting mark that would remind the kids of what they learned today. We entrusted them to find a wall in their community that we could paint. A local boy painted a tree along the wall, brown and bare. Each child added their handprint to the wall creating a sea of colorful leaves surrounding the tree. A reminder that when we share a collective idea the impact is abundant and beautiful.
We had come to Villa Gloria to teach the local children about animal welfare. You see, Colombia shares a very different view from that of the United States on how animals, such as cats and dogs, should be treated. While my dog sleeps in my bed at night and is ambushed with kisses daily, the animals in towns like Villa Gloria are routinely starved, kicked, and doused with boiling water if they are near a shop or residence. Our hope was to educate the town’s youngest residents in the idea that animals feel just like humans and how to care for animals in your neighborhood.
As a non-profit in Cartagena, our mission is to rescue, rehabilitate, and adopt animals, while also providing educational services and animal welfare services to Cartagena and the surrounding areas. There are estimated to be 400,000 strays in Cartagena currently. Each month, we find a neighborhood in need of food, vaccinations, and sterilization services for the growing stray population. We send out volunteers to hold educational events for both kids and adults on animal welfare, animals’ needs, and how to care for the animals in your community.
Here in Villa Gloria we started by sharing our mission. Children from the neighborhood sat around in the one room schoolhouse. They listened as volunteer Cartageneros shared why their perspectives changed on animals, focusing on the realization that animals feel emotions in the same ways humans do. The children shared their own positive experiences with animals to highlight the frequency and universality of these interactions. They also shared examples of mistreatment they’ve seen around the town. It pains me now to recall their tiny voices speaking of such neglect and abuse at the hands of their neighbors.
Afterwards, we read books on how to care for animals and role played. Their faces lit up as they held the stuffed dogs and cats, chickens and pigs, replicas of the animals they encounter daily. Some enthusiastic, some reserved, each eventually took a turn acting out how they would interact normally with that animal and shared ways they could help them in the future.
We also talked about the ways they could impact the treatment of animals in the town. How they could care for animals without spending money. How they could not be a bystander to situations of abuse. How they could shape the future for animals in their community.
As we were leaving Villa Gloria, we wanted to leave one lasting mark that would remind the kids of what they learned today. We entrusted them to find a wall in their community that we could paint. A local boy painted a tree along the wall, brown and bare. Each child added their handprint to the wall creating a sea of colorful leaves surrounding the tree. A reminder that when we share a collective idea the impact is abundant and beautiful.