Bridges Across Borders administers human services and educational programs and projects in countries including Colombia, Panama, and Mexico. ¹ It was founded in Bradford County, Florida in 2003. ²

Colombia

In Colombia, Bridges Across Borders administers the Wayuu Solidarity Campaign, sending representatives to visit the Wayuu indigenous community in La Guajira, Colombia to assist them in dealing with the repercussions of a violent massacre that occurred on April 18, 2004. Bridges has hosted North American solidarity tours by Debora Barros Fince, the founder and director of Organization Wayuu Munsurat and international spokespersons for her people who now live in exile in Venezuela. Bridges Across Borders also participated in a temporary re-occupation of Bahia Portete. ³

Bridges Across Borders also provided cameras to refugees in Colombia to document their experiences in 2003, ran youth leadership gatherings, and created sponsorships in Colombia. ⁴

Panama

Bridges Across Borders supports the Colegio de la Tierra for High School for the Earth in Jaque, Panama. The focus of this school is to teach environmentalist-aligned forestry and the scientific study of the local ecology. ⁵

That group also helped to establish two pre-schools for 3- to 5-year-old children, which have now been turned over to a small private school in Panama City. Bridges Across Borders runs Meals on Heels, serving food to the elderly, and established a cooperative to provide economic support for refugee women from Colombia who live in Panama and make recycled paper cards. This latter program is funded by seed money from the Popular Movement Fund of the Peace Development Fund. ⁶

Other Activities

Bridges Across Borders operates a garbage reduction and transformation project that uses a bicycle-powered collection vehicle to collect garbage that can be turned into methane gas for cooking and compost. The digestors are being tended by students in the new high school. This project was scaled up after a grant from the Cottonwood Foundation. ⁷

In Mexico, Bridges Across Borders supports various programs such as a house that helps girls get educations and food, environmental education-based activities, and state prison workshops. ⁸

In the U.S., the organization operates student groups ⁹ and works with the Bradford Environmental Forum, which focuses on issues related to the Upper Santa Fe River Basin especially in Bradford County, Florida. ¹⁰ It is also involved in a campaign opposing phosphate mining along the New River and in neighboring Union County. ¹¹

1. “Bridges Across Borders.” Bridges Across Borders. Accessed March 22, 2022. https://www.bridgesacrossborders.org/.
2. “USA.” Bridges Across Borders. Accessed March 22, 2022. https://www.bridgesacrossborders.org/usa/.
3. “Current Projects.” Bridges Across Borders. Accessed March 22, 2022. https://www.bridgesacrossborders.org/colombia/current-projects/.
4. “Past Projects.” Bridges Across Borders. Accessed March 22, 2022. https://www.bridgesacrossborders.org/colombia/past-projects/.
5.  “Current Projects.” Bridges Across Borders. Accessed March 22, 2022. https://www.bridgesacrossborders.org/panama-2/current-projects/.
6.  “Esquelita Por La Paz (The Little School for Peace).” Bridges Across Borders. Last modified February 4, 2009. https://www.bridgesacrossborders.org/2009/02/esquelita/.
7. “Current Projects.” Bridges Across Borders. Accessed March 22, 2022. https://www.bridgesacrossborders.org/panama-2/current-projects/.
8. “Mexico.” Bridges Across Borders. Accessed March 22, 2022. https://www.bridgesacrossborders.org/mexico/.
9. Past Projects.” Bridges Across Borders. Accessed March 22, 2022. https://www.bridgesacrossborders.org/usa/past-projects/.
10. “Bradford Environmental Forum.” Bridges Across Borders. Accessed March 22, 2022. https://www.bridgesacrossborders.org/usa/current-projects-2/bef/.
11. “USA.” Bridges Across Borders. Accessed March 22, 2022. https://www.bridgesacrossborders.org/usa/.