To address the issue of poverty is to fight for someone’s dignity
Colombian Team
Kambio is the dream of many. Harry (far right) is one of Johan’s best friends from Cartagena. Harry’s story is powerful and inspiring. His wife Madeleide was a woman of faith, who gave her service to underserved children and families in Cartagena. After a rough battle with Cancer, “Made” left us to be with the Lord in 2019, leaving Harry with two young kids. Her work among those communities inspired Harry and their kids to continue a legacy of service and love for others. When Johan mentioned the idea of Kambio to Harry, he was both excited and moved to tears to know that God wasn’t done with Made’s dream of seeing lives being transformed. Harry says that Kambio is a “divine opportunity” to continue the legacy given by Made to serve others. Harry is gifted and hard worker father, who is overseeing Kambio’s operation in Colombia.
We will introduce everybody else later, but for now, we want to say that we have a great team of volunteers including a lawyer, an accountant, a business manager, graphic designer, a biologist, and three local pastors. They all have normal jobs and donate their time to Kambio.
Johan & Ashley
After spending 8 months in Colombia between 2020 and 2021, Johan, Ashley and their three daughters, came back to their home in Denver, Colorado, with the desire to see a change among the poor of Colombia. While visiting different cities in Colombia, they were presented with the sad reality of seeing and interacting with entire families living in the poorest condition, jobless, homeless, and without a community. As a Colombian, and having experienced poverty himself, Johan was not ignorant of these realities, but now, with a family of his own and after being in pastoral ministry in Denver for more than 12 years, Johan and his family were able to sense that it was necessary to do something for the poor in his home country. Johan’s story of transformation from being a troublemaker and rebellious teenager that would find excuses to get into street fights to becoming a pastor and earning a master’s degree, is what makes him believe that change is possible when the right structures and systems are given. Johan believes that his story is not unique because it is the story of many, some have already experienced it and others will be able to do it as well with Kambio.
Our Heart
At the heart of Kambio’s mission is love and justice. More than a charity, Kambio aims to restore dignity to people who otherwise will never have the opportunity to experience their true humanity. We want to see people getting out of poverty and staying away from it. This is possible when the individuals and their families are given the tools to experience their God-given potential and identity as human beings. Because poverty steals the basic rights that a person is born with – food, education, home, family, and community, we believe that it is possible to give back those rights. Our model is rooted in creating self-sufficiency and sustainability for each family and their communities through investing in education for employability, supporting small business start-ups, offering practical solutions for food self-production, mentorship and discipleship to build healthy families, and accountability to maintain the process.