Walking with Hope: A Church with an Amazonian Face
In light of the journey undertaken at the Sixth General Assembly of CEAMA, as a pilgrim Church in the Amazon, we wish to welcome with hope the fruits of this time of listening, discernment, and communion. This Assembly reminds us that we are called to be a Church with an Amazonian face, deeply synodal, walking alongside the peoples, listening to their voices, and accompanying their processes with a Samaritan spirit and a commitment to life, strengthening a mission rooted in the territory and open to the action of the Spirit.
Strengthening communion and coordination.
In this spirit, we are invited to strengthen the living processes in our communities, promoting coordination among networks, organizations, and ecclesial spaces that share the same pastoral, educational, and community vision. Walking in synodality implies precisely this: joining forces, building relationships, and recognizing ourselves as co-responsible in the mission, allowing the Holy Spirit to animate our actions and impel us to work together for the common good.
First area of collaboration: education without borders
As a concrete expression of this shared journey, two significant areas of collaboration stand out. The first, between Fe y Alegría Colombia, the Itinerant Team, and REIBA, aims to promote and strengthen Intercultural Bilingual Education (EIB) in the Amazonian tri-border region between Venezuela, Colombia, and Brazil, supporting teachers and educational communities in their educational mission.
Second collaboration: knowledge and the ecological calendar
The second collaboration, between the Bolivian-German Brotherhood Commission and REIBA, invites us to embody “text in context” through activities from the ecological calendar. This initiative not only facilitates curriculum development but also promotes the appreciation and preservation of ancestral knowledge, recognizing the cultural richness of our peoples as a gift that must be cherished.
A Church that reaches out and sows hope
Thus, as a Church that reaches out and acts in synodality, we remain committed to grassroots initiatives that strengthen education, identity, and community life, trusting that “something new is sprouting” among us.
In this same spirit, we extend an open invitation to other networks, organizations, and institutions that wish to join forces with REIBA. We welcome all initiatives aimed at cultural preservation, care for our common home, technical training for high school students, and any proposal that contributes to improving living conditions in the Amazon region.
Bilingual Intercultural Education (EIB): An Education Rooted in the Territory
REIBA supports processes of Bilingual Intercultural Education (EIB), understood not as an education confined within four walls, but as an outward-reaching education that springs from the territory, engages with daily life, and is built within the community. It is an education with a profound pastoral and synodal sense, where learning is interwoven with listening, encounter, spirituality, and a commitment to the reality of the Amazonian peoples. In this journey, we promote not only academic knowledge but also the appreciation of ancestral wisdom, care for creation, and the integral formation of the person.
This support is provided in collaboration with a variety of stakeholders: children, young people, college students, teachers, community leaders, as well as religious congregations and pastoral workers—all of whom play a central role in a dynamic and transformative educational process. Despite the region’s significant challenges—such as limited internet connectivity and long, difficult-to-travel roads—we remain committed to an education that reaches out, adapts, and responds to the concrete realities of each community.
Sowing New Paths Together
For this reason, we encourage those who share this vision to walk together, to build bridges, and to forge alliances that strengthen these processes, trusting that, through communion and shared responsibility, it is possible to continue sowing hope and opportunities in the heart of the Amazon.
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INFORMATION ABOUT THE ORGANIZATIONS MENTIONED:
Fe y Alegría: An international movement for comprehensive popular education and social promotion, led by the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), which seeks to transform the lives of poor and marginalized populations in 22 countries. Founded in 1955, it offers quality education, technical training, and values, promoting social justice and equity.
Itinerant Team: An inter-institutional and inter-congregational space dedicated to serving organizations, peoples, and communities in the Amazon region, whose fundamental mission is service based on itinerancy, inter-institutional collaboration, a geopolitical and pan-Amazonian vision and action, dialogue, a commitment to socio-environmental justice, and a presence of solidarity, etc., seeking to complement the services of other more institutional projects and/or to reach areas where they cannot
Bolivian-German Brotherhood Commission: An organization of the Bolivian Episcopal Conference (CEB) that coordinates pastoral, spiritual, and social cooperation between the Catholic Church in Bolivia and the German dioceses of Trier and Hildesheim. With over 60 years of activity, it promotes volunteer exchanges, social projects, and the strengthening of faith.