The apostolic Vicariate of Mitú lies in the Amazon region of eastern Colombia in an area covering over 21,000 square miles (54,000 km²). Roughly a third of its population of 45,000 people live in the town of Mitú itself. The remainder live scattered throughout this jungle-clad region and the majority of them belong to one or other of the 26 different indigenous tribal groups, each with its own language and its own particular customs.
The pastoral outreach here is difficult, owing to the vast distances, and the Church also lacks the resources needed to proclaim the Gospel. The infrastructure is, not surprisingly, poor and the road conditions inevitably difficult. There are something like 57 km of roads giving access at least to those communities still relatively close to the city, but apart from this there are almost nothing but narrow tracks, negotiable only on foot. It can take several days to reach many of these indigenous rainforest settlements.
At the same time however, it is vital for the Church to be close to the people, since there are many social problems, not infrequently including even suicides, so that the people need intensive support and care. The local Church is also deeply concerned to encourage local vocations to the priesthood and to the permanent diaconate, as well as the formation of catechists. For nowhere is it truer than here in the Amazon region what Our Lord says in the Gospel – that „the harvest is great but the labourers are few“ (Lk10:2). But first of all the priests and catechists have to be able to reach and visit the people themselves.
Bishop Medardo de Jesús Henao del Río, the apostolic Vicar of Mitú, has suggested to us that what would be extremely helpful for the pastoral outreach in those communities that are not too far from the city itself would be if the Church could obtain some motorised rickshaws, that could carry several people. Three such vehicles would be an enormous help for the pastoral work in this area, since they are ideally suited to the road conditions and are a secure and effective means of transport. We have promised him 12,800 Euros so that he can obtain three of these rickshaws.
Code: 214-08-29