Lisa Heilman Lomauro

My plane landed at Newark airport, bringing me home after five hot and intense weeks spent in the countryside of Colombia as part of The Colombian Accompaniment Program, one of the active peace-making branches of Presbyterian Peace Fellowship.

Leaders in the Presbyterian Church of Colombia are taking great risks in their human rights work and their support of the communities of Colombians who have been displaced by the violence of the forty-year war in their country. They recruit volunteer international accompaniers in order to provide a measure of safety – €”international eyes – €”for their work.

During the dangerous years of advocating for families displaced from their homes and livelihoods by means of intimidation and violence, the program found that, when accompanied by people from ‘the outside’, the advocates and those they served were safer.

While the worst of those violent displacement years are over, lingering threats, violence and now ‘modern day’ displacement still occurs. The Accompaniment Program remains a success, not only from a continuing presence aiding in real time, but also in helping local culture change, as foreign eyes have been a consistent watch.

Being born in Colombia, to adventurous teachers from Pennsylvania, I’ve always had an affinity to anyone or anything Colombian. As a 50-something with more personal time on my hands, I learned of, and became involved with, the Colombian Accompaniment program because of the anger and frustration I felt learning of the continuing threat that humble, innocent and proud families were still experiencing in this seemingly forgotten part of our world. If I could channel my desire to help into something proactive by accompanying displaced persons and their advocates to help ensure their safety, I wanted in.

While I am told our presence (there were two of us) was helpful to the core mission, I must humbly submit that it was I and my co-accompanier that probably received the greatest impact. We may have helped continue the peace-making process there, but I know I was profoundly touched by all whom I met in this forgotten area of previously violence-stricken Colombia.

What I’d like the world to know about older workers is that we, who have experienced, learned, witnessed much from our decades of living and working, are actually at our prime for giving back when we are able to leave our ‘day jobs’. Such a wealth of wisdom and often deeper priorities lends us to becoming a bank of resources to be put to good and fruitful use. We have so many ideas, and many of us are already very involved behind the scenes. We just don’t advertise it!