Our experience as volunteer helpers in 'Cantoalavida'

Our journey takes us to Campoalegre, a small town in the province of Huila in Colombia. Here, we will spend almost a month as volunteer helpers in a foundation named Cantoalavida, which rescues, cares for, and finds homes for street animals. The foundation is located just outside the city and all the buildings are mainly made of environmentally friendly materials such as bamboo, palmicha, and clay. The garden is full of flowers and also has coconut palms and banana plants.

When we arrive, we are welcomed by Gloria, the founder and president of Cantoalavida. We also meet her Italian husband Gigi, three women from Campoalegre who help out at the foundation several times a week, and three other volunteers from Chile, England, and Switzerland. Since there are numerous daily tasks to be done, every helping hand is needed to take care of the around 30 dogs and over 60 cats. Many of the animals that are brought to the foundation or found abandoned on the street are in a terrible condition, often sick and often very young, sometimes just a few weeks old, making them more susceptible to diseases. These animals need to be cared for not only during the day, but also often during the night, to give them a chance of survival. Our tasks as volunteers start with cleaning the cat house and dog beds, as well as gardening and kitchen work. There are also always small construction projects and repairs to be done. Lastly, we help with the healthcare of the animals, which includes removing ticks and fleas, treating scabies, and administering special medications for sick animals. The foundation tries everything humanly possible to take care of the animals as best as possible. However, due to financial difficulties, critical necessities are unfortunately lacking. The consequences are dire, as there is a lack of funds for important vaccinations, regular parasite treatments, sterilizations, and veterinarian visits to treat sick animals correctly and promptly. People with knowledge of veterinary medicine are urgently needed. The financial situation is so distressing because important donations that the foundation has received in the past are now not coming anymore (Cantoalavida relies solely on donations). The scarcity has reached a point where there is not enough food available for the animals. Another problem is the absence of a quarantine station for sick animals and the lack of separation between puppies and kittens, which is why vulnerable young animals quickly become ill and die. And although Cantoalavida is the only "animal shelter" in Campoalegre, it cannot count on support from the municipality or other official institutions, despite the right to a dignified treatment of animals being enshrined in the constitution. The majority of the city's population is also not willing to collaborate, most likely due to the relatively high poverty and lack of education in Campoalegre. Empathy towards animals and environmental awareness are hardly developed.

Despite the adverse circumstances, a great job is being done here. The animals are in loving hands, living without fear and recovering from their previous hardships. Besides conventional medicine, homemade natural remedies such as cough syrup, ointment for scabies, herbal remedies for diarrhea, and homemade kombucha to strengthen the animals' immune systems are used. The fruit called Chambimba is used as soap, producing plenty of foam after boiling and mixing it in a blender. It can be used to wash clothes, dishes, and even animals, while also having antibacterial properties.

From the first moment, we feel very comfortable here, as part of a big family, and we stay longer than initially planned. Outside the foundation, Campoalegre is perfect for getting to know Colombia, as the only non-locals are the volunteer helpers of Cantoalavida. And one can take a Chiva (public transportation) up to the mountains that surround Campoalegre. There, one can experience rural life in an area that was occupied by the guerrillas and inaccessible until 8 years ago. We learned to prepare typical Arepas and since there is a lot of cocoa grown here, we made chocolate one day. After harvesting, the cocoa beans are fermented in banana leaves, then sun-dried, roasted, peeled, and ground together with Panela and spices. Et voila, the hot chocolate is ready! We also processed freshly harvested coffee, the process is similar to cocoa, but without Panela and spices.

In summary, the time here has been very enriching for us, although often not easy. Sad moments are part of the work at the foundation. It is particularly hard when animals die after being cared for and looked after for days or weeks. The working days were often long and exhausting because on some days several new animals or emergencies arrived, which meant that we often got little sleep in that month. But the positive memories of our time here will outweigh: the moments of affection and joy with the animals that grow up healthy and happy, we have learned interesting things and found new friends who continue to fight for the preservation of the foundation despite all the complications. Gloria is a strong woman with a big heart, who has crazy stories to tell and always has new ideas. We will miss her, all the other team members, and the beloved animals very much. Not a day will pass without thinking of them. We sincerely hope that we will come back someday, see everyone again, and that the situation of the foundation will have improved!

If you would like to help the foundation, you have the opportunity to participate in the following crowdfunding project:

https://en.goteo.org/project/ayuda-a-protectora-de-animales-canto-a-la-vida

If you are unable to help financially, please feel free to spread the word and share it with friends, colleagues, and family!

After visiting the coffee plantations in Colombia, we headed to Campoalegre, in the province of Huila, where we will be volunteers at an animal shelter called Cantoalavida for a few weeks. We contacted Gloria, the director of the foundation, through Helpx, an internet platform where volunteers from all over the world search for projects to collaborate with. The facilities of the foundation are humble but very beautiful. Traditional and environmentally friendly materials such as bamboo, palmicha, and adobe were used for the construction of the buildings. But what stands out the most is its beautiful garden, full of beautiful flowers, fruit trees, banana trees, and coconut trees.

In addition to Gloria, her husband Gigi, three workers named Johana, Nubia, and Ginet, and two more volunteers, Noé from Switzerland and Jovanka from Chile, are waiting for us at the foundation. On the same day we arrive, Mateo also arrives from England. It may seem like a lot of people, but the daily tasks at the foundation are numerous, and any help is welcomed. It is not easy to keep around 30 dogs and about 60 cats in good conditions. Many of them are newborn puppies and kittens, many arrive in terrible conditions and are sick and require a lot of attention during the day and also at night so that they can survive. The tasks we perform as volunteers range from cleaning the dormitories, gardening and kitchen work, small construction projects, to deworming ticks and fleas or controlling outbreaks of scabies and administering medication to the animals that need it. The foundation does everything it can to take care of the dogs and cats, but it does not have enough financial resources to do so optimally. The lack of money is very serious because it is not enough to vaccinate, purge, or pay a veterinarian to regularly come and attend to sick animals or sterilize them. People who really know about veterinary medicine are urgently needed. Even now there are difficulties in feeding them because important donations that were received until now are no longer coming. Another serious problem derived from all this is the mortality rate of puppies, as in addition to the mentioned deficiencies, there is no exclusive area for puppies or a quarantine area. And the foundation lives exclusively on donations in an environment where, in general, people lack any empathy towards animals due to poverty and/or lack of education. It also does not receive any support from the municipality, despite being the only center for sheltering abandoned animals in Campoalegre and the constitutional right to have a place where animals can live with dignity.

Despite all the difficulties, great work is being done here. The animals live happily and free from fear, leashes, or psychopathic owners who mistreat them. Natural remedies are also used for their healing, such as cough syrups, ointments to eliminate scabies, kombucha to boost the animals' defenses, serums to stop diarrhea, etc. Artificial soaps are not used here. Instead, a fruit called Chambimba is used, which, after boiling and blending, produces a large amount of foam. This foam is used to wash dishes, clothes, and animals.

The people here have been wonderful to us. From the first moment, we felt like part of the family, and of course, being a volunteer here is a joy and a pleasure to lend a hand. Gloria always has incredible stories to tell about her life, and Gigi always pleasantly surprises with his conversations about nutrition and sociology. It is also a good place to get a firsthand view of the reality in which Colombia lives since the only gringos in the city are "Gloria's kids" 😊. Also, during our time here, we had the opportunity to visit the mountains that surround the city and get to know the rural area. In fact, until 8 years ago, it was an area controlled by the FARC and inaccessible.

One of the days at the foundation, we spent making cocoa. First, we collect the ripe fruits, and the seeds ferment for 3 days inside a banana leaf. Then they are sun-dried, roasted, and peeled. Once the cocoa bean is clean, it is ground together with Panela, which is cane sugar that is less processed. And voila, we have our own instant cocoa!

In summary, being here has been a tough but very enriching experience. We have had moments of deep sadness when animals have died after days of caring for them. The days have sometimes been very long due to new animals that have arrived, so it has been a month of little sleep and hard work. But we remember more the positive things, such as the animals we have given affection to and who have grown up healthy and happy, the things we have learned, and the new friends we have found here who continue to fight despite the difficult circumstances they face. Gloria is a strong woman with a big heart and many new ideas. We are going to miss her and the whole team, and of course, all the animals a lot, and not a day will pass without thinking of them. We would love to see everyone again in the future and see that the situation of the foundation has improved!

If you think the foundation is doing a good job and want to collaborate, you now have the opportunity to do so through their crowdfunding project:

https://en.goteo.org/project/ayuda-a-protectora-de-animales-canto-a-la-vida

Serving as part of the team

Entrance

Lunch break

Lunch break

Adoption of a female dog

Bathing a female dog

Documentation work

Acclimation of 2 new dogs

Fetching water from the well

Feeding the cats

Lunch break

Guanabana

Cat invasion in the kitchen

Puppy feeding

Treatment of a female dog

Dog sleeping area

Repairing shelves with bamboo

Cat invasion in the kitchen

Bean selection

Working at the well

Preparing palmicha for use in construction

Veterinary visit with 4 animals

Flower of the Chulupa fruit

Treating a female dog

Washing dog bowls

Cocoa harvesting

Cocoa

Cocoa

Cocoa

Cocoa

Cocoa

Cocoa

Cocoa

Cocoa

Cocoa

Cocoa

Cocoa

Cocoa

Cocoa

Our sleeping loft

The Chiva

Mountain excursion

Mountain excursion

Mountain excursion

Mountain excursion

Mountain excursion

Mountain excursion

Mountain excursion

Mountain excursion

Mountain excursion

Mountain excursion

Mountain excursion