PASTO, Colombia, 30 June 2016 — My student and I made a brief trip to “Hogar de Paso,” or “Place of Passing,” today. It’s a half-way house on the outskirts of Pasto, funded by the city mayor’s office and operated by the “Pastoral Social,” a branch of the local Catholic church. The facility currently houses […]
SAMANIEGO, Colombia, 28 June 2016 – The Colombian civil war that has claimed an estimated half a million dead and wounded over the past 50 years is not over yet, despite the peace accords signed this month in Havana, Cuba. We were reminded of this fact on our trip to Samaniego, a drive of three […]
LA FLORIDA, Colombia, 27 June 2016 — Coffee is everywhere in the community of La Florida, about an hour drive from Pasto. This is the peak of the coffee harvest in this part of the country. You can see coffee drying on main streets of towns and villages, on the front and back yards of […]
PASTO, Colombia, 26 June 2016 — This city prides itself in its deep religiosity, calling Pasto the most Catholic city in the province of Nariño — if not in all of Colombia. And the church here seems to wield significant influence on daily life. I’m on assignment for American University’s Center for Latin American and […]
WASHINGTON, DC, 28 March 2016 — Applications for the AU-Pulitzer Center International Reporting Fellowships are due no later than midnight this Thursday 31 March. I’m encouraging all AU students to take advantage of this opportunity. Not only are the fellowships worth US$2,500.00 each, but with them go mentoring and distribution assistance from the university as […]
WASHINGTON, 2 March 2016 — We’re holding an information session today on the AU-Pulitzer Center Student International Reporting Fellowships to be awarded this year. Applications are due before midnight 31 March 2016.