>> Julia: Welcome to Things I Wish I Knew, the podcast from
Thinking Faith, a work with the Jesuits in Britain.
I'm Julia. I'm in my early 30s, and I used to live in
a Jesuit young adult community. We all live
hectic lives and often don't get time to reflect on
what's happening both to us and around us. This
podcast is meant to help you take a moment to stop
and think about where you are, where you're going, and
where your relationship with God fits into it all.
Every week, I meet a new guest who tells me about something they
experienced which changed their life forever. And by
talking about the things they wish they'd known at the time, we
explore the idea that God is in all things. And
we'll talk about the part that faith plays in navigating life's
challenges.
Today, I'm speaking to Laura. She grew up in
Colombia, and after working for different NGOs,
she moved here to the UK to do a Master's.
What impacted me about Lara's story is how her
experience, experience in Colombia impacts her
work and how she responds to people. So,
Laura, what was it like? Growing up in Colombia
>> Laura: It's the most amazing country. Of course I'm biassed, but I could stay here,
like, talking forever of how amazing the country is because
the weather is amazing, the food is amazing, the people are
amazing. But when I was growing up,
Colombia used to have the longest armed
conflict in the world. And even when that
I'm privileged enough because I wasn't or
any of my family was part of that or was
directly touched by the conflict, that was always
in the background. So in the news, you can hear, like,
always news about that. And
basically I grew up hearing about the
conflict, so that gave me a lot of perspective also
because my dad used to be a judge.
So those two things mixed
inside me. And, I grew up
feeling that I wanted to do something, that
I wanted to create a change
in my country first. So
that's, why I grew up in Colombia. I had a really,
a really happy childhood, years and all of that,
but, yeah, always with this sad
background.
>> Julia: Did your dad being a judge inspire you?
>> Laura: Yes, he inspired me to study political science. He's
a lawyer. But it's funny because I was convinced that
I needed to work inside the government to be able to do a change.
I have never had any positions inside the
government, and I'm not planning to, at this point,
I didn't know exactly why, but. Or what.
But he inspired me to study something related
with society and to understand the context and
like to know more why things were in the way
they were. So, yes.
>> Julia: Can you tell me more about studying at the Jesuit University
in Colombia?
>> Laura: For me, my university time
was a life changing experience. I went
really young to university and
university opened me a new worth.
So I truly believe in the Jesuit education in
the way that it transforms you because it's
not just like the academical part of the
things, but also it's the integral part
of it. So being able to go to the university
there allowed me to do a lot of volunteer
work and to know another realities,
to be able to interact with people
with different backgrounds. So I felt that I had
the privilege of enjoy a really
integral education. That's what the Jesuit
education is looking for at the end. So
yes, it was a transformative experience for me and
it kind of showed me what I wanted to do
because I used to be part of two volunteers, one
during the semester and the other one at the end of the semester.
And I used to go to more m rural or
neglected places in the country to do social
projects with people in the communities.
I realised that that was what I wanted to
do for a l at the time. Of course I
didn't know how to combine those things. At the end I could.
But yes, it showed me the path that I wanted to
follow basically.
>> Julia: And so how did you get started on that path?
>> Laura: I think the first step was, as I said,
being able to participate in all these
volunteer opportunities and all those things that the
Jesuit education, because I know it's not just the university
that I went, but it's just all the Jesuit education,
offers. and then I knew
that I wanted to have a work where I could
be directly in touch with people. Of course
you always going to have a work where you have
your desk and you have your computer and it's
you and answering emails. But I knew that I wanted
to have a job where I could have contact
with people, where I can be directly involved with
communities where I could go and see
how they live and be sensitive and be present.
So the first job that I had before,
after graduation was because of
the longest conflict in Colombia. There is an
organisation who deal with
IDPs international displaced people in
Colombia. So I used to m. That was my first job after
university. So basically I
needed to interview them to see how they
were living and to check that they were like
living in good conditions anyway. And then
that was like my first experience. It was really hard
because even when I was really sensitive,
I Didn't have, like, any training on
psychological tools, if you wish. And of course, if you
are going to be in a really sensitive environment, you need
to be able to have, like, psychological tools available
to deal with personal stories.
But that teached me a lot and I'm so
grateful because I think that that job, shape
the rest of the jobs that I have.
Then I, started to work with WFP Network
Food programme in Colombia. They were, managing
a programme where they have, like,
mobile units and they used to go to
different places in the country to reach kids
and to give them food, but also do
all the integral thing that is behind food.
So basically they were giving
psychological services to the kids, they
were doing training for the parents, these type of
things, not just giving food and guns.
And then since 2015,
there are a lot of Venezuelans coming to Colombia because
Venezuela is going through,
I don't know how to call that, but people is
leaving the country because of the political
situation that is happening there. So
before coming here, I worked with
UNHCR in Botha, that is the
capital of the country. And I was in
charge of all the humanitarian aid
projects that UNHCR
Bogota used to offer. And
that was also really special because it allowed
me to understand all the things that
refugees and migrants need to go
through every time they flee their own countries.
And I still have that feeling. And that, How do you
say that? Like, I'm still really sensitive
because of that experience also because now I'm a
migrant myself. It's not. Not the same, but
that's the way that I have found before coming here
to combine those two things. And then I came to study a
master's degree in human rights and I decided to
stay because I found the job in Jesuit missions.
>> Julia: So how has your experience in
Colombia shaped your approach to international development?
>> Laura: I think that because I had the
opportunity to work before coming here
and to be on the other side, I have,
like, a special sensibility in the way
that now I'm working in a, rich
country who is the one who has the funds
to give to countries that
are not so rich. But I used to work in a
country that doesn't have so many resources.
So I think that I can bring that perspective to the work that
I'm doing because I'm really aware what it means
to send money on time, to be,
supportive with the partner, because I
used to be in the other side, so I think that I bring
to the job that I'm doing.
>> Julia: So you work for Jesuit Mission.
And when people
traditionally think of mission or missionary,
they think of somebody taking their faith
to a different country. But how has that
shifted?
>> Laura: Yeah, that's the way that it used to be when
Jesuit missions started. So it was basically
British missionaries going to
Africa, Asia, Latin America to
teach faith. that's not the way that it is
anymore. So basically now,
and I think that is something
that could be different from like
working Jesuit missions that working in other types
of NGOs. It's that now,
even when we still work with Jesuits in the
ground, they were born there, now they are part
of the community where they are working.
It doesn't feel that you are imposing
something. Of course, we as an institution, we
have priorities and there are some
geographical areas that we are more interested on.
but still we work with them
as partners. So we hear their
voices, we are worried about their
concerns, we try to amplify their
voices. So we don't go to any specific country
saying m, this is a piece of work that we want to do. Who
can implement that for us? It's basically
the community. It's organised
around the thing that they want to solve
or the problem that they have. And we
came giving money, but also
helping them to raise their voice.
So we don't impose, as I say, we don't impose anything
to them. It's basically we accompany the community.
That's the difference. Yeah, we used to come from
this old vision of what a visionary
was, but now everything is coming from
the communities. Now everything is with a, bottom
up emphasis. Beyond that, us
telling them what to do. And we also recognise
that because we are partners, we also have
things to learn from them. It's not just
us giving them training and letting
them know what we want and what we expect.
It's also asking, what do you want from
us? What do you need from us? What type of resources
we can do?
>> Julia: So I guess it's in a way a, good
demonstration of Catholic social teaching in that
it's subsidarity, it's giving people
the decision, the power to make the decisions for
themselves rather than someone making the
decision for them and saying, here's this money, you need to spend it this way.
It's more saying, like, how can you empower yourselves as a
community to do what works best for you?
>> Laura: Yeah. And even when they, the places that we work,
of course, are historical places where
the British province used to be,
or like countries where the,
that were part of the British province in the past, even
when there is that, we know that we need
to change. We know that we need to evolve those
type of relationships. So, now, as I was saying,
all the missionaries are part of the community and
we work with that. And, yeah, we trust
their views.
>> Julia: M. So what does decolonizing mission
work mean for you personally?
>> Laura: So for me, I think that I'm a mix
of everything, because now I'm here in the UK working,
but also I'm not from here, I'm not from Europe.
So it means to bring their voices,
to listen to them, to, of course, I
need to ask questions and read reports and make
comments, but it's also to understand
that they are our partners.
So we work together. We are in the same level
and we have some knowledge that probably they don't. But
in the same way, in the other way around, they have
some knowledge and they have some experience, and they
are there in the front light, you could say, doing the
work. And there is bravery on
that. We cannot say that they are doing a bad job
or we cannot say how. We cannot teach
them how to do their work. So that, for me, it's
decolonized. The work that I do. Bring their voices,
don't talk in their behalf. They have their own voices.
Give them platform to express themselves.
>> Julia: You just reminded me of, when I went to Sierra Leone
on, when I was. I stayed there for four weeks
and I was visiting local farmers and
their projects, and they were showing me how they, like,
grind up different seeds and stuff. And they
were like, your turn. And then I was absolutely useless at it,
so definitely would not have any advice.
but do you have any projects that you've seen
firsthand which have stayed with you or struck you?
>> Laura: Yeah. Last year I had the opportunity to visit Zambia and
Zimbabwe. And of course, even when those
used to be historical places and we have
historical tights with those countries
now, we are supporting some projects that are.
Are trying to retain children in the
schools. So giving them, like a
bike or something to eat or the
uniform or toiletries, you can
help them to keep going to school.
And I had the opportunity in Zambia to meet one
young boy. His name is Timothy.
And basically he used to live
really far from the school. And he
needed to walk, like, three hours to reach
school every day and three hours
to, go back to his house every day.
And because of that, he was, of course,
really tired. He wasn't being able to
pay properly attention in class. he used
to reach school after the breakfast time,
so sometimes he didn't have any breakfast.
So the situation wasn't good. He Used to live
just with his grandmother. His parents abandoned
him and then he started
to be part of the programme that we are supporting there, that
it's called joasa. And
he received a bike. And of course his life
changed massively because now
it takes him like 45 minutes, one hour to
reach the school. He never miss breakfast
again. Now he's one of the best of the
class and he wants, and he was telling
me that he wants to
graduate and go to school and he wants to become a doctor
and stay in the community to help. So that
stayed with me, but not with a
pity feeling. I don't feel. And I never felt pity for
him. I feel that. And that's
also related with Decolonize. The work that we do,
we need to help people to empower themselves. We
need to see them not just like
the poor boy that I need to help, the poor boy
that needs something from me. Of course he
needs our support. But he's
a person who has their own tools and we
can empower him to be whatever he would like
to, but from a responsibility
sense more than a, pity.
So, yeah, that was really powerful,
Sam.
>> Julia: So I guess how mission has changed is it's more about
empowering people, in this iron age. And I
think whether you're doing mission work
internationally or in this country, it's still that same
like you need. People need empowering.
>> Laura: Yeah, yeah, totally, totally.
And if you recognise that they have their
own strengths, I think that's the first step.
You don't know. You don't know. I mean, of course you
know things, but I cannot go over
there to tell people in Guyana, for
example, how to do their work if I
work in Wimbledon. So
that, that wouldn't have any sense. And that's
something that I have found really interesting with
working with the Jesuits here. Because of
course the Jesuits are part of the church, but they
allow to do this empowering work
and this accompanied work with communities that, that
they are working with.
>> Julia: So what's the difference between working for Jesuit missions
and a larger ngo?
>> Laura: I will say that the bottom up
emphasis, with the larger NGOs
that I worked with, they used to have
procedures and priorities that,
not even those procedures and those priorities
were not even chose
inside of the country that we were working like they
were chosen in some
HQ office in Switzerland or
wherever. and I think that's the difference
also the motivation, of
course. I think that we are really touched by the
Ignatian spirituality. So we have
time to reflect on the work that we do.
And to say probably this is not the way that we would
like to and correct that. That, work
or that path.
>> Laura: So, yeah, like the motivation to do the work.
I have found that it comes from a different
place that does make a lot of
sense.
>> Julia: And I guess I kind of want to go back to the communities
that you work with, but it might also be a question of how
you work as well. How do you see good at work in
the communities you support?
>> Laura: I would say that first of all, I'm really sensitive
of all the story of the places that I'm going to.
And when I'm there, I.
I will enjoy to speak with people, not just with the
project staff, but also with the. The
beneficiaries of the. Of our project, if you wish.
Not just to ask them their stories and how the project has
impacted their lives. That's really important. Please don't get
me. but also to know
their perspective about the country that they live in
and.
>> Julia: Yeah.
>> Laura: What is the vision? What is their views?
I really like to listen
the different stories and the different
worries and everything.
And I think that's
invaluable in the work that I do. And
that keeps me sensitive because
if you lose your sensibility, it doesn't have
any sense to keep doing this type of work.
>> Julia: I m. Guess you're seeing that person
as an individual with their own dignity
and respect, rather than just
a beneficiary of the project as well.
>> Laura: Yeah. And I really like
to say every time that we run a campaign or every time
that we reach our supporters, that is
important to say that our beneficiaries are
people with dignity more than
pity faces.
>> Julia: I guess it also comes down to that mentality of it's us
and them, but actually seeing everyone as
our brothers and sisters.
>> Laura: Exactly. Yes.
>> Julia: What do you wish more people understood about privilege and
responsibility and mission work?
>> Laura: That there is nothing wrong with having privilege.
The wrong thing is not to. To do
anything with it. So. And I'm
saying this like in, Like in a
personal level, of course, I recognise that I'm
a really, really privileged person. I
went in a country where going to university is
a privilege. I went to a really good university
and I. I had the privilege to come here
to do a master's degree and to be able to study in
a different country. Even when I'm struggling with it,
I'm able to speak another like other Lang.
And now I'm working here and I know I'm white
and I know that I'm really a really
privileged person. But I try to,
every time that I speak, I try to use
that as a base and say, I know that I'm
talking from the privilege, but
whatever you name it, that's something that
is always in the top of my head, that
I'm a really privileged person because I had
a lot of opportunities and that's the only difference
for me. And from a, refugee in South Sudan,
that I had all these opportunities,
that someone invested in my education,
someone gave me food. Even when I grew up in
a country who has like, or who used
to have like an Internet conflict, I was
privileged enough to be able to live in different
cities where that was happening.
So that is always in the top of my
head. And I think in a way,
that could inspire me
because I don't need to find
inspiration, like external inspiration for the
things that I believe or for how
I see things. I found them in my own
history, in my own country, in the
realisation of the things that I have. And the only
difference between me and, and the person who
doesn't have that is that I was born
in a specific family. You need to
embrace your privilege to be able to do something with it
in the same time that you need to embrace the
history of the place that you were born to try to change
it. so, yeah, I would like people
to be more aware of that, that it's totally
okay to have privilege, but you need to
do something with your privilege. Starting
for saying, I'm, privileged. That's why
I have the responsibility to do something. But
from the empowering, path, not
from better or I have this and I'm,
superior or whatever. No, from.
Embrace your responsibility.
>> Julia: I guess it's a challenge of people acknowledging
their privilege in the first place. and
is there a way to support people with that,
like specifically with.
>> Laura: The work that we do? I think that's something that we try to
do through, the campaigns
and through the advocacy work that we do. But sometimes it's
hard to say people, you need to be aware that the place,
you were born and all the privileges that you have for that.
Because that message is not well taken among
people in the majority of the
cases. So we try to
be aware of that without
telling people what to do, because that could be offensive in
a different way as well. I think there is a, quite challenging
balance to have when you are saying
that to people.
>> Julia: Yeah, definitely. And not everybody
in this country comes from a place where they grew
up as a multimillionaire so.
>> Laura: Yes, exactly.
>> Julia: Like, a lot of people in this country have a lot of their
own challenges and struggles. And, And while that
might be very different from people who are
living in extreme poverty, there's still
the reality of their own situation.
>> Laura: Exactly. And we try to connect what is happening
here with what is happening around the
world. So I think that could be the key in
some way, like, try to show that what you
do here, it has an effect on
what is happening in any other place in the world.
>> Julia: Yeah, that's so true. I used to, talk with young people about
how it's possible, our brothers and sisters around the world
and trying to get them to realise
that the actions that you take in this
country has an impact globally. And I
can't remember off the top.
>> Laura: Of my head, I used to say.
>> Julia: This quote all the time, but there's a quote that before you even had your
breakfast, you have relied on half of the world.
The idea that you get out of bed, you
probably didn't physically make the bed, didn't make
the sheets, you go downstairs to have breakfast,
you've probably not grown the food yourself, etc. You can
make small decisions, can have a real difference
on other people's lives.
>> Laura: And I think it's also this Jesuit
concept that we are connected
and we are. So I think that we try
to show that through the campaigns and
through the, things that we advocate for.
But of course, trying to have a balance
between what I was saying and, what people
understand about privilege or the reason why
they don't see their privilege.
>> Julia: It's really challenging, actually, to think about in terms
of, where privilege comes from, because I
think quite often we assume it comes from your
financial situation. But actually if you just said
it's also about what opportunities you have and
where you happen to be born or which family
you've grown up with. yeah, there's a. I
think that's something that's going to stay with me, that thinking about.
Actually, it's not necessarily about what money
you have or had, it's just about the
opportunities you've been given.
>> Laura: Yeah. And what, what you do with them.
>> Julia: Yeah, absolutely.
>> Laura: And I think that's the way that,
like, going back to the, What is the way that I
decolonize the work that I do. And I think that
we give people opportunities and I think
that empower people if we give them
opportunities. For example, Timothy, the project, give
him a bike. That was an opportunity for him to
grow up and be able to have
food or, like, go to the school and it
was an opportunity. It is not because, oh,
I'm superior, you know, it's because we
give him an opportunity that otherwise he wouldn't be
able to have. And I think that's also part of
the work that we do and, and the part of
how decolonized the work, giving
opportunities, understanding that that's
the only thing that it's different from, like
from us than from others and from
the people that are being the beneficiaries of the projects that
we work with.
>> Julia: And I guess those are opportunities is about giving people the
opportunity to make a choice.
>> Laura: Exactly.
>> Julia: So that young boy who you mentioned, he has the choice now to go to
school or go to the market, do something else.
But he's been empowered with his
opportunity to go to school and he'll finish.
>> Laura: His education and he has more time now and
he can study and he can read
and do those things that he
wasn't being able before.
>> Julia: So what do you wish he knew about decolonizing mission
work?
>> Laura: That doing a job from a,
ah, decolonized perspective will take the others
to decolonize as well. and
even when that could be really obvious
sometimes the places that I have had the
privilege to visit, I realised that the project
staff or the beneficiaries, they
still have a really colonised
mindset. So
that is really obvious. But that was also
really shocking when I started to realise that it
was necessary not just to be decolonized
for me and for my work but also try
to give the opportunity, opportunity to others to think
what they were doing in a
decolonized emphasis. So I will say
that try to understand that not
everyone have had the opportunity to
decolonize the way that they do their work
and try to balance that's really challenging
and I'm still working on that.
>> Julia: And what are you most grateful for?
>> Laura: I'm grateful for all the opportunities that I have path in
my life. That's how I'm here today. So
yeah, I'm really grateful.
>> Julia: Well, thank you for joining us.
>> Laura: No, thank you for inviting me.
>> Julia: Thanks for listening to things. I wish I knew. I know this
episode is going to change the way I think about privilege.
Lara shared how it's about the opportunities you receive
and the choices you make. How about
you? We love to hear how Laura's story resonated
with you. And why not also tell us if you're facing your an
experience you wish you knew how to look at differently. It
might just be something we can help with. Find out
more about this theme and
others at thinkingfaith.org. Thank you again
for listening, and I hope you'll join me again next time
on Things I Wish I Knew.
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