Conferencia 2 pm Universidad Tecnologica del Choco, Colombia

http://www.lapatria.com/opinion/columnas/gonzalo-duque-escobar/el-canal-interoceanico-atrato-truando
Lapatria.com  Julio 30, 2018.

Excelente articulo del Sr. Gonzalo Duque Escobar sobre el Canal Interoceanico del Choco, Colombia.  Un proyecto que terminaria con la Crisis Humanitaria del Choco.

Comienzo de Conferencia sobre Canal Interoceanico - UTCH Julio 30, 2018

 Canatcol, AP Julio 30 de 2018

Sr Rector de la Universidad Tecnológica del Choco David Emilio Mosquera Valencia
Sra. Vicerrectora Liddy Bonilla Martinez
Sr Presidente de Canatcol Leopoldino Perea Caicedo
Sr Director Ejecutivo de Canatcol Dr Juan Andres Moreno Moreno
Sr Representante de Canatcol en El Valle Dr Fernando Cancino Restrepo
Sra. Presidenta Fundación Sembrando Semillas para el Futuro Claudia Baldwin.

Señores Profesores y Estudiantes, Señoras y Señores:

En Marzo de 2012 iniciamos el Comité Cívico pro-Canal Interoceánico del Choco con la colaboración de la Fundación Sembrando Semillas para elFuturo de St. Paul, Minnesota, Estados Unidos. Después de tocar varias puertas encontramos al Dr. Juan Andres Moreno Moreno, quien inmediatamente comprendió la importancia del proyecto e hizo contacto con el Sr Leopoldino Perea Caicedo. Estos dos lideres Chocoanos constituyeron la Asociacion Privada Canal Interoceánico del Choco en Noviembre de 2015 con la participación de cerca de 150 Consejos Comunitarios y Cabildos Indigenas propietarios de al Zona del Canal del Choco. Después de investigar el tema, encontramos cerca de 300 referencias sobre este proyecto que empezó con el descubrimiento del mar del Sur por Vasco Nuñez de Balboa guiados por el hijo del Cacique Panquiaco.

En 1820 Simon Bolivar ordeno al primer Gobernador y Libertador del Choco Coronel Jose Maria Cancino la construcción del Canal Interoceánico con picos y palas compradas en Jamaica.

Tres leyes de los Estados Unidos de 1858, 1876, 1949 estudiaron la ruta Atrato-Truando descubierta en 1855 en la quinta expedición patrocinada por el Banquero de Wall Street Federico M. Kelley.  Dos leyes de Colombia de 1964 y 1984 ordenaron la construccion del Canal Interoceánico, las cuales no se han cumplido.

En 2015 Ingenieros Militares de Egipto ampliaron el Canal de Suez en 12 meses para aumentar los ingresos de USD$5.500 a $9.500 Millones de dólares. Esa cifra es el potencial de ingresos por peajes para el Canal Interoceánico del Choco.

En 2016 se construyeron nuevas esclusas del Canal de Panama de 366 m de largas. Aparecieron los Buques Ultra Grandes conocidos por la sigla inglesa ULCS de 400 m de eslora que no caben por Panama. Estos serán el 85% de la Flota Mercante Mundial en 2030.

Colombia necesita una nueva ley para reemplazar la 54 de 1984 y ordenar a los 27 Batallones de Ingenieros Militares construir el Canal por seis frentes diferentes. Se necesita la exención de impuestos para la construcción, la creación de la Zona franca y la modificación del escudo nacional para cambiar el Istmo de Panama del tercer cuartel por el Canal  Interoceánico del Choco, que se convertirá en el primer Departamento de Colombia.

Con la ayuda de Dios y de todos los Chocoanos, el Canal Interoceánico del Choco creara un polo de desarrollo que brindara salud, educación y bienestar a todos los habitantes del Choco.

 Muchas Gracias Sr Rector, Sra. Vice Rectora, Sr Presidente y secretario Ejecutivo de Canatcol AP y Sra. Presidente de al Fundación Sembrando Semillas para el Futuro por su liderazgo y muchos éxitos en el seminario que hoy se inicia con una nueva era de esperanza para todos los Chocoanos y habitantes del abandonado Pacifico Colombiano.

Atentamente Jaime Gomez Gonzalez,MD
Representante Canatcol EEUU
www.canatcol.com
Canal Interoceánico de Colombia
En Chocó, Colombia: Juan Andrés Moreno,Teléfono (574) 671-0541 En USA: Jaime Gómez, P.O. Box 443, Bayport, MN, USA 55003,
(561) 789-7238 www.canatcol.com

(Perdon la falta de tilde pero este programa no lo permitio).

Workshop about the Interoceanic Canal in Choco, Colombia., Seminario del Canal Interoceanico, Choco, Colombia

The Technological University of Choco, Colombia has invited Professor Joaquin Catala from the School of Roads, Canals and Ports of the Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain to present a workshop on the project of the Choco, Colombia Interoceanic Canal.

The presentation will take place at the Jesus Antonio Lozano Asprilla Auditory on July 30 to August 1, 2018 from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm.

The cost of registration is $30 dollars for professionals  and $15 dollars for students.

For more information contact:

UTCH address:
Cra 22 No. 18 B-10  Barrio Nicolas Medrano
Ciudadela Universitaria
574-672-6565
01-800-093-8824

.............................................................................................................................................

La Universidad Tecnológica del Chocó (UTCH) en Colombia ha invitado al Profesor Joaquín Catalá de la Escuela de Caminos, Canales y Puertos de la Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, España a presentar un taller sobre el Proyecto del Canal Interoceánico del Chocó, Colombia.  

La presentación tendrá lugar en el Auditorio Jesús Antonio Lozano Asprilla, el 30 y 31 de Julio de 2:00-5:30 pm y el 1 de Agosto de las 8:00 am a las 12:00 pm.

El costo de la entrada es $100.000 pesos para profesionales y $50.000 pesos para estudiantes (presentar identificación para recibir descuento estudiantil).

Para mayores informes favor contactar a:

Dirección de la UTCH:

Cra 22 No. 18 B-10  Barrio Nicolás Medrano

Ciudadela Universitaria

574-672-6565 

01-800-093-8824

Seed Song

Seed Song  by Joyce Rupp

I am the seed

So small, so dry,

Lifted in the hand

Of the silent Sower.

Into the earth

I fearfully fall,

Darkness covers me,

Silence surrounds me.

The terror of my heart

Is the only sound

To keep me company.

All that is me

Huddles together

Trying desperately

Not to surrender

Any part of self.

“Why was I planted?

I cry out.

“why am I here?”

I entreat.

“take me out into light;

I cannot bear

This deadly dark.”

I weary. I weaken.

The days become long.

I can no longer fight.

I surrender

In this lonely place

Of waiting.

Quietly I sense

A penetrating warmth;

It surrounds me;

It fills me

And blesses my pain.

In a moment

Of peacefulness

I forget my fear.

I let go of my self

And suddenly

The husk that holds me

Weakens and breaks.

“No!” I scream.

I am losing my self,

But it is too late.

The husk is cracked;

I cannot be contained.

It is then

That I sense a power

Deep inside me,

Encouraging me:

“Let go. Let go. Let go.”

It is an energy

That pushes the husk

Until it falls away.

As it slips aside

My eyes behold color.

Ah! Can it be?

A tiny glimpse of green!

“How could that be?”

I marvel,

“there was never green

In the heart of me.”

Yet, it is there;

Each day

It slowly stretches upwards

To where the warm

Seems to be.

I become less of a seed.

I am losing my self

But the pain I once knew

Is lost in surprise;

Something wonderful

Is greening and growing

Deep within my heart.

Days go quickly now.

I become one

With the small stem of life.

Oh! The glorious moment

When, ah, breath of Spring

Fast fills my face

I move through the hard earth

And taste the world which awaits my arrival.

From within my tender shoot

Comes a soft sound

I listen. I hear.

It is a song to the Sower:

O Sower of seeds,

Did you always see

This gift of green

That was hiding in me?

O Sower of seeds,

How came you to prize

The beauty within

That hid from my eyes?

O Sower of seeds,

The husk has been broken;

All praise to you

For helping me open.

Accept now my praise,

My thankfulness, too,

For the seed you have sown

And the gift that you grew.

May you lead me to others

Who await your good word,

So the seed within them

Can awake and be heard.

In Memory of Hunter Nelson

Hunter Nelson, the wonderful volunteer from Fundacion Marajuera in Choco, Colombia, passed away on July 4, 2018.  We feel a great loss for Choco, Colombia.  Few people in the world do what Hunter did.  To go out of their way to raise funds for children in extreme poverty, who are suffering malnutrition and go barefoot every day of their lives.  Hunter wanted to have  the barefoot experience, and wanted to gift the children with tennis shoes and cleats.  We are all very sad for his loss.  Here is a special writing from his friend LP Kiatoukaysy.

Thanks Hunter, you will stay in our minds and hearts, and help us multiply your efforts to assist the many children in Choco, who are suffering.

The first time I met Hunter it was like meeting a younger version of myself.

Kindred spirits I thought.

Bright eyed. Optimistic. Full of energy and desirous of everything life had to offer.

He was mad. Not mad as in angry, but mad as in hopelessly desirous of life, like the great Jack Kerouac describes in his masterpiece “On the Road”.

But there was something else. Self-awareness. A sense of authenticity that only comes from living a full life.

I was impressed.

So when Hunter told me he was going to hike the Pacific Crest Trail, a trail I myself have hiked three times end to end, I was thrilled; and when he next told me he was going to do it barefoot, I had my doubts, but I knew from my own experiences of people doubting my own enthusiastic proclamations of walking across this great continent that I needed to support my friend.

You see, I know a thing or two about traveling this world. I’ve seen North America by foot, hitchhiking and thru-hiking in some of the most remote stretches of wilderness, often for weeks with no human contact, crisscrossing this beautiful continent over and over and over again.

I know how the trail changes you...

On trail you are the best version of yourself. You are more giving. You are more forgiving. You depend on the kindness of strangers for rides to town for resupply. You in turn help strangers in need of food, or are injured, or simply in need of companionship. Your faith in humanity is restored.

You are returned to Mother Earth, and in that return your spirit is balanced. You wake and fall asleep with the sun, and you sleep under billions of the brightest stars spread out across the darkest of night sky. You realize your place in this world. You understand your own insignificance.

You drink unspoiled water directly from the source, and are nourished eternally for the journey ahead. You appreciate the natural resources of this beautiful world, and you make a vow to protect it.

You are presented with the most painfully beautiful natural scenery: distant snowcapped mountains; the whitest of clouds above; sunsets so piercing every fiber in your being pulsates with LIFE; the haunting sound of a loon on a quiet lake; the quiet laughter of nearby campers on a warm summer night; the cool breeze in the morning as you wake...

The trail reminds you how precious life is.

Anyone who knows Hunter knows he has already mastered all of this, understands this, but I knew a hike on the PCT would permanently change him. I knew it would allow him, give him permission, to be the best version of himself.

I told him “go for it!”.

When he told me he was doing it to raise awareness and money for the youth and the community of Fundación Marajuera - I was proud. I immediately went into networking mode and put him in touch with some of the connections I’ve made in thru-hiking circles. I helped him secure a sponsorship with “guthook”, who generously donated his “app” of the PCT.

Hunter was thrilled.

Over the next year we talked about my experiences living on trail, writing and art, poetry, what inspired me to choose this thru-hiking lifestyle, the great Beatniks and vagabonds of a generation ago, music, philosophy...and we ultimately crafted a strategy to meet his goal.

We decided on a start at Crater Lake, Oregon, logistically easy to Seattle and stunningly beautiful, with a finish in Washington. I encouraged him to consider hiking as far north as possible with the hopes of getting as far north as Goat Rock Wilderness.

In his enthusiasm, and no doubt a personal challenge, he would sometimes focus on mileage and keeping continuous footprints, all barefoot of course.

And I would gently remind him ... “it is not the destination, nor is it how many miles you hike a day, or even if you hike it all barefoot, because the terrain may call for some type of footwear, and in the end it doesn’t matter if you hike 1 or 100 miles - it is your intention to be of service to the community of Fundación Marajuera...to discover who you are meant to be”.

Respectfully, he would always thank me for the kind reminder.

We talked for hours and hours about the physical and mental challenges of trail life, where and how to resupply food drops, gear, how to manage and care for his feet, how to use the GutHook App, how to hitchhike, how to read maps, trail food, first aide, safety, wildlife encounters, understanding Pacific Northwest weather patterns, camping and leave no trace protocol, and so much more...

But what I most enjoyed was when we spoke about life, and to hear about his dreams and aspirations, who he was in love with, and thoughts on art and society, and music, and how excited he was at future opportunities of being of service to other disadvantage communities.

And now he is gone.

I recall a cold winter day last December when we had a late afternoon chat over the phone. We were talking about getting ready for the trail and he asked me if I thought he was mad.

I instinctively quoted the great Jack Kerouac:

“The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars.”

And now another eternal candle burns brightly across the night sky.

I will miss talking with my friend.