Helping Colombia’s Indigenous People With School Supplies

As part of the ongoing efforts of KIF Colombia's StarAngel School project, we have donated dozens of school supplies directly to Mr. Mamo Lorenzo Izquierdo, the Colombia indigenous spiritual leader and founder of Terunna Foundation, to provide educational assistance to children of the indigenous community.

Mamo Lorenzo was born in the mountains of Valledupar in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta Colombia and has been named Summumpawiun (Messenger of the Gods of Earth) at the square of "Maruneywiun". A mamo, by western standards, is both a spiritual leader and a doctor. El mamo Lorenzo is Arhuaco, one of the four indigenous groups that call the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta home. The Arhuaco is also called the Heart of the World, due to the treasures of ancestral knowledge it guards.

With over 30,000 people, this Caribbean mountain is Colombia’s largest indigenous stronghold. The Arhuacos live there along with the Wiwas, Kogis and Kankuamos. Although different, they share the same common belief that they are the centre of the universe, the “big brothers” of humanity, responsible for balancing the earth’s energies with their spiritual knowledge that surpasses that of their “little brothers” (everyone else).