"Whenever someone asked me, “ Do you ever think about going back to Colombia ?”  I would feel myself sheepishly shrugging, nodding and saying, “Maybe one day.” I never felt excited or motivated to even consider this for myself until finding Healing Puentes. Or I’d like to think that they found me. My trip this summer to Bogota , in community, allowed me to live as my most authentic self. I was able to witness myself dance, smile, laugh, and talk for perhaps the first time in my life -no censoring , no mask. The land and its people carried me home and I am now whole.  

 

Thank you so much to you Elena and the board members of Healing Puentes. I was granted a scholarship to travel and stay in Colombia for the meet up in Bogota .  I am filled with gratitude and a strong connection, for the first time in my life, to myself, the country and culture.  I so appreciate being seen and offered such a profound experience in community".                       

 

  -Cristina Kawan- Hemler