The Great Balance, Incorporated

Hundreds of kids and young Arhuaco Indigenous community are fleeing the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia, leaving behind desolation among their families and weakening their culture and the future of the Heart of the World. Western ways of life are reaching the reservation, bringing foreign ideas that lure young people to leave the Sierra and abandon Indigenous ways of life. Already, many give up their Indigenous belief systems and are converted to religious sects. Teenage pregnancy is rampant. And as among many Indigenous groups, alcohol and drug abuse tend to affect the Arhuaco more severely than non-Indigenous groups.

The Great Balance is asking for your support to reverse this dramatic situation. Thousands of teenagers especially girls need to be guided and protected. Donations of any amount, no matter how large or how small will be greatly appreciated; a donation of $300 dollars will help us to offer an Arhuaco kid new approaches and strategies to prepare these new generations to thrive in both traditional and intercultural settings, while developing a strong sense of ethnic identity as to who they are, and all that they represent.

The Arhuacos are in great need of finding ways to keep their younger generations faithful to their traditions and to provide enough schools and resources to do so. Therefore, The Great Balance has worked with the Mamos (spiritual priests), educators, community leaders, and authorities to design a Youth Leadership Institute (YLI) which has been accepted by the Indigenous community with great enthusiasm.

Over the course of eight years of active engagement with the Arhuaco tribe, The Great Balance, a 501(c) (3) tax-exempt organization, has been working with the tribal spiritual priests (Mamos) and educators to reinforce and improve Indigenous education in order to overcome the mounting difficulties this Indigenous society is facing today. The education of new generations of Mamos is also a challenge because it requires special housing, food production, and isolation from the rest of the community. In order to be the spiritual guides of their people, these children and their mentors must concentrate their efforts on the long and profound journey required to acquire the required wisdom and leadership.

The Institute will be established in the Simonorwa Center, which comprises 10 different regions serving a total population of 2700 individuals. The YLI will serve children who have no access to high school,  emphasizing educational opportunities for youngsters, with special attention to girls and young women, by sponsoring, promoting, and supporting educational, social, economic, artistic, and spiritually oriented projects, personal growth, and intercultural cooperation.