In the indigenous Barí language, Catatumbo means ‘house of thunder.’ The name reflects a unique geography of mountains and rivers that produces the highest concentration of lightning strikes in the world.
The Catatumbo’s natural conditions have also endowed the land with some of the world’s most valuable natural resources. It contains the largest area of coca plantations on earth and is a major exporter of refined cocaine. The region also possesses vast petroleum and gold reserves and fertile conditions for palm oil plantations.
But as with many naturally rich areas of the world, resource abundance has cursed the people of the Catatumbo.
Since the 1990s, locals have been pawns in a conflict between guerrillas, paramilitaries, and government forces seeking to profit from the land. As a result, despite the abundant profits extracted from the region, its communities remain some of Colombia’s poorest.
A fresh wave of violence beginning in January has forced some 54,000 locals to leave their homes. Another 32,000 are confined to their houses, unable to leave due to the ongoing combat.
As with any conflict, young people are the worst affected. Some 47,000 children are unable to access education due to displacement or confinement.
Schools in the region are also often underfunded and undersupplied.
Steve Hide, a former Head of Mission at Doctors Without Borders in Colombia, took it upon himself to organize an aid drive for a school in Tibú, a town at the center of the humanitarian crisis.
He collected donations from a network of locals and expats in Bogotá and Medellín, and coordinated a bulk purchase of school supplies from a stationary retailer in the capital.
“It’s very hard to know until you get there exactly what it’s going to be like and it’s all a bit of a guess but I think there’s also the element of showing a bit of solidarity with the people in there, they’ve suffered a lot over many years,” he says, behind the wheel of his red Mitsubishi Montero.
The journey is not without its risks but Hide, who trains journalists to operate in hostile environments, is aware of what these are and how to minimize them.
“It’s a conflict area so you’re not guaranteed to be safe, it’s hard to know from the news exactly what’s happening, it’s hard to get good information but we do have a few contacts there that are encouraging us to come so we’re hoping it’s safe enough,” Hide explains.
He stresses the importance of not alarming locals, who may be informants for armed groups and who will be on high alert given the tensions in the region.
“You have to take it easy, you can’t rush in, you have to know people there, you have to make some contacts before you go and then when you get close to the conflict areas, go slow, take it easy, talk to people, stop along the way,” he explains.
As he’s telling me about the risks in the conflict zone, a truck overtakes our car at high speed just before a corner on the mountain road.
“Crazy Colombian trucks, there you go, this guy’s going madly too fast down the hill, but he’s riding empty so he probably thinks he’s like a sports car,” Hide jokes.
He was once a truck driver himself, taking passengers on overland tours around the world, including a route from Colombia to Patagonia.
His unique set of logistical skills were suited to NGO work and set him up to get involved in the non-profit sector.
His time with Doctors Without Borders gave Hide access and insights into Colombia’s conflict zones. These included Tibú, where he met Jaime Botero, a community leader and the current President of the Association of Communal Action Boards (ASOJUNTAS).
Arriving in Tibú, which is now home to some 13,000 people displaced by the recent clashes, Botero greets Steve like an old friend.
The two catch up and discuss the situation in the Catatumbo, Botero’s project to expand a local school, and how best to coordinate the delivery of supplies.
We drive to the local school to deliver the boxes, where a team of volunteers helps to unpack the car.
The next day, Botero invites us to the school to meet the children who will receive the supplies.
They are particularly enchanted by the bright yellow English to Spanish dictionaries, gazing wide-eyed at the open boxes on their way to their classrooms.
In an assembly, Botero addresses around 300 students from Pre-K to third grade.
“I want to welcome Steve Hide, a great friend who has brought us important supplies from Bogotá,” says the community leader.
But we cannot stay to see the students receive their supplies as Hide is keen to hit the road early out of an abundance of caution.
After leaving the Catatumbo, we debrief on the mission over breakfast.
“I know no one’s pretending that we’ve made a huge impact. We haven’t. Maybe just for a few people. But it’s something. Something’s better than nothing,” Hide says between sips of a milky coffee.
He praises the work of NGOs in Tibú, several of which had contributed funds and materials to the expansion of the school we visited.
But Hide also suggested that, with the end of USAID and budget cuts to NGOs around the world, trips like these may be increasingly common.
“The idea that you can get people together from a community, in this case friends and people we know in Bogota, raise a bit of money, buy some stuff, and actually deliver it directly to where the needs are, I think that’s kind of special as well,” says Hide.
Finally, I ask him whether he would describe the trip as “mission accomplished.”
“Yes, very much. I mean, we got there, we got back, still alive. Most important thing,” Hide jokes.