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Baltimore, October 22, 2002 -- Lutheran World Relief is holding training sessions in the Midwest to mobilize people to advocate for peace in Colombia. The training, in early November in Iowa, Minnesota and South Dakota, is part of the LWR campaign 'Voices for Peace in Columbia.'
"The meetings are to put people in touch with each other, identify local leaders working for justice in Colombia and give them training to move forward," said Kirsten Anderson, LWR's outreach organizer for the campaign.
Participants will be equipped to teach others and to help colleges, seminaries, city councils and service organizations take up the issue, bringing it to wider attention locally and nationally, Anderson said.
Sioux Falls Lutheran parishioner Delaine Shay is one of the people planning to take part. "I am really looking forward to putting my faith in action with [this] advocacy network. My heart goes out to all the Colombians affected by the war," she said.
The long-term goal of the LWR campaign is to shift U.S. policy toward just and peaceful solutions for the people of Colombia. Current U.S. policy is exacerbating Columbia's violence and suffering as a result of intensified counter-insurgency and anti-drug measures, LWR partner organizations there report. Aid to Colombia will be debated in the next few weeks as Congress deals with a backlog of legislation.
To learn more about the training and about peace making for Colombia, visit LWR's Colombia web site.