If you are keen and can still remember a bit of geography, allows me to take you back to the famous continent of South America. Looking at the map of Colombia, I want to take you to the place where it bounders with Ecuador, Peru and Brazil.

The boundary itself is the famous river commonly known as Putumayo. I want to shear with you concerning this portion within the three countries namely Colombia, Ecuador and Peru separated by the river Putumayo. It is a part of the famous Amazon also commonly known as the lungs of the world. The climatic condition of this region is very un welcoming. It is hot and dump during a long period of the year, on the other hand, those who live there refer to it as the exotic garden of the universe. This is because the place is ever green. Majority of the inhabitants in the centres are called Colonos and they dominate in the businesses and in the possession and the management of the farms where by they rear cattle for meat and milk and do cultivate. The indigenas are normally in the rural areas or besides the river. They earn their life by small scale farming, fishing, hunting and cutting wood for sale or communal use. Among the indiginas groups include the Sionas, Kofanes, Ingas , kichwas and uhitotos. There is a small presence of the Afro- Colombians who work as teachers in the rural areas or in small businesses.

During the years past, this place was considered by the Colombians who lived in the big cities as the land of good luck or a land of opportunities. As I continue narrating, you will get the reason. Until the last century, the land was inhabited by many wild animals. Commercial people would reach this place, hire the indigenous that would trap the animals, kill them, and take the skins, and the tusk according to the demand in the market. Their bosses would remain waiting in the small houses already present. Later those houses will go increasing in number to be big centres the way they are today.

Once one had good amount of money would leave that business and go back to the city. As the world animals lowered, started the business of exporting the precious woods. Many people profited from this business. Today in this famous Amazon, my dear friend you can not find a wood of a high quality. Many became rich as the “lungs of the world became poorer”. Then came the discovery of the rubber plantations. This business attracted many and these countries were given tittles as world producers of rubber. Today they do not appear in the list yet many people became rich.

This place is called a land of opportunities, once rubber could not give any more, they started the cultivation of coca. The famous cocain is extracted from this. The farmers were cultivating and selling it to those who extract it into cocain and latter finds its way to the rest of the world where there is a demand of the product. My friend just for your information, of all the business done in this place, the last one has brought a lot of violence. The governments of these countries have tried to stop this business but it has been a hard tusk. The business is very naive, it does not trust anyone with its money. Many people have ended up loosing their life, others displaced from their lands; others have been fumigated with the poisonous mixture that destroys the cultivations and have remained blind. As if it is not enough, cocain business has generated an armed conflict that never ends.

As it is still the land of goog luck, today many are buying big portion of land, fenching it for cultivation and rearing of cattle .It is commonly known as padocking. The idea is very nice and especially for those who have money to invest in the business. They should not forget to plan trees in the same region otherwise this place may go transforming itself into desert.

As Catholic Church is concerned, it has been following very closely all these changes that have been taking place in this region. In a special way Consolata missionaries have been working very closely with this population through the vicariate of Saint Vincent- port Leguizamo. To show how serious the local church is, the process has already started to create a new vicariate namely Vicariate of Port Leguizamo- Solano. It will cover Solano munisparity and the one of Port Leguizamo. At the same time the Consolata missionaries are in the process of coming closer to carry out evangelization in the extended region that cover the three countries namely Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.

CHALLENGES OF DOING PASTORAL WORK IN THIS REGION

- Vast territory low densely populated.

- Long travelling distance from one family to another.

- Indigenas people don’t have a culture of remaining at home. They spend most of their time in the river, forest or in the place they cultivate.

- Peru side is much more closed since the only means of transport is by water and her big centres are quite far from the boundary with Colombia.

- Life condition at a high risk during the rainy seasons due to floods.

- Absence of the state authority.

- Ecosystem in danger of extinction. (New comers do not respect the richness of the Amazon; they are lead by the law of the axe or power saw, create disordered occupation of the territory and uncontrolled burning.

- Generalized violence.

- Obstacles for the indiginas identifying fully with their origin due to the past experience of suffering and intimidation.

- Great influence of Colonos values, anti values, way of life, criteria and modes of action reaches indigenas communities and impregnate them with the new way of life.

- Influence of modernity (globalization).

- Narco traffic

- Armed conflict

- Sect proriferation.

- Big number of adults who do not have not even the first sacrament.

- Displaced high percentage of people.

- Unemployment.

- Luck of resources to carry out the pastoral work.

- A continuous crossing of the boundary among the three countries is a great challenge depending on their relations.

CHALLENGES IN THE NORTHERN ZONE OF CAUCA

• Armed conflict which cause the destruction of human life, properties, means of communication, future of the youths and blocks evangelization.

• Peace and justice (education of human rights.

• Dualism in spirituality (One follows the traditional religion and at the same time is half Christian.

• Cultivation and production of coca (Many of those involved in this activity do not want to commit themselves in the church because of fear of being discovered or because they feel personally not to give the testimony.

• Poverty: Many of the lands are mountainious, cause soil erosion and destruction of the crops during the rainy season.

• Language and cultural barrier

• Not getting into agreement between the diocesan pastoral plan and that one of the imc.

• Luck of an equal take of risk between the diocesians and the missionaries. (Missionaries are taken to be people prepared to work in difficult and risky places while the diocesans feel to be delicate.

• Luck of disponibility among the imc missionaries to work in conflictive zone.

• Difficult in understanding the inner world of the indigenas people; their spirituality, cosmovision, economy management and socio- political.