The Kogi in de Sierra Nevada de Santa Martha in Colombia are the custodians of the ‘heart of the world’. Their sacred territory including themselves and their spiritual leaders –the Mamos- are increasingly under threat from outside pressures. Read the letter from Calixto Suarez, Mamo of the Kogi.
We feel powerless, as our land now belongs to private entities in the eyes of the law. We know these lands belong to us, and they are important to us, for our ability to feed ourselves and for their spiritual value. The sacred territory that has belonged to us for centuries has now been deeded to others; these are places where we used to do our ceremonies and rituals of harmonization. Source: Calixto Suarez, Mamo of the Kogi, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia
Last year a car travelling from a meeting with the Mamos being held up by a group of armed thugs and fired upon. Read more here. Thankfully no one was killed, despite 40 gunshots being lodged in the body of the vehicle. All passengers escaped with only minor injuries.
The significance of this car is that it is a ‘Mamomobile‘ which carries the Mamos to visit the sacred places, to bring visitors to them and to go to meetings. It will take US4,600 to repair the vehicle. Please pledge an amount (however small) to get the vehicle going again and help the Mamos to again move around their sacred land.
Here are two ways to do that:
1) Deposit your donation directly into the Colombian bank account provided by Calixto: Colombian Bank Details
2) The SEARCH Foundation has not only agreed to part-sponsor the appeal, but also to collect your donations and then transfer them to the Colombian account Calixto nominated.
The bank account details: Country: Australia, Bank Account Name: SEARCH Foundation, Bank Account Number/IBAN: 06202800351928, SWIFT code: CTBAAU2S, Bank Name: Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Bank Branch Address: Town Hall Branch, 546 George Street, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia, Remember to clearly state ‘MAMO MOBILE’ as the purpose of transfer.
Or via Pay Pall, the second from the top on this page.
