Puerto Valdivia, Colombia is about six hours east of Medellín. It’s a long way from anywhere most people would think to go. We’ve been going for years. Here’s what’s happening there right now.
The Diocese of Quincy has been in Colombia for years. More than two dozen resident clergy serve across a growing deanery. Father Jason Bowden and his wife Jennifer make regular trips. Bishop Alberto Morales leads the diocese. This work is long-term and relational. We are not leaving.
Every school day, 60 children eat breakfast at a cafeteria beside the church. Twenty adults eat too. Women from the neighborhood volunteer to cook and serve. They asked for uniforms — aprons and shoes — so they could do it with pride.
$1,300 a month feeds all 80 people. $16.25 feeds one child for a full month.
In April 2026, a sewing school opened in Puerto Valdivia. Twenty women at a time train for 15 months. The Colombian government provides trained instructors, certification, and insurance. When a woman finishes, she holds a certified seamstress credential. It’s hers. She can use it to earn a living for the rest of her life.
$83 covers one woman’s training for a full month — enrollment, materials, childcare, transportation, and lunch.
Young people in Puerto Valdivia have very few good options. Through a church sponsorship, they find safe, meaningful work — caring for the building, helping with programs, serving the community. Carlos is one of them. He’s 18. His younger brother eats breakfast at the cafeteria every morning.
$200 a month sponsors one young person.
A $1,000 metal roof kept a church from flooding through every rainy season. Father Luis wept when it was finished. He said no one had ever cared for his community like that before. Jose got a chest freezer so he could store fish and give more away. He also got a new fishing net. Now he sells fish to nearby cities and helps his neighbors.
$1,000 funds a church roof. Smaller gifts fund chairs, tools, and equipment that serve the whole community.
The Diocese of Quincy also has relationships in Myanmar, Thailand, and Brazil — sister dioceses and partner churches we stay in contact with. We have a church in Mexico.
Right now, your donation supports the work in Colombia. As God opens new doors, Quincy International will be ready.
Every dollar goes to the people and programs in Puerto Valdivia.
