Food, water and health in San Luis
(26.02.2014) San Luis is located in the rural area of Puerto Asís, Putumayo, Colombia. Around 70 percent of its population is African descendant that around 40 years ago arrived from the towns of Tumaco, Barbacoa and Cumbitara in Nariño. This community is organized around the “Afrosanluis”, a community council chaired by Ana Milena Ortiz. She is a young mother and an excellent leader who knows more than anyone what are the problems that the inhabitants of San Luis face and works hard to find solutions. Improving their quality of life is, in fact, her main goal. According to Ana Milena, until 2009, at least 90 families lived in the village but throughout the years some of them went away, escaping from violence and glyphostate sprayings that affected their gardens.
Those who are still there today rely on agriculture and fishery for their livelihoods. “We, the Afro communities, always try to settle on the banks of the rivers because it is where we have access to water and fish which is our main food” says Ana Milena. But this is not always an advantage; to live on the side of a river means to be at risk of floods like the one that occurred on 20 July 2010, when Acaé River overflowed taking away the school along with some houses, destroying the Health Center and destroying all the crops. After the flooding, the community was terribly affected mostly because of the destruction of the crops causing the loss of people’s livelihoods. Water stagnation brought diseases and with no Health Center there wasn’t a way to treat them. Moreover, with no school, children weren’t able to keep studying.