Housing & Community

Decent Housing

Housing

Thanks to the support of Asociación Codo a Codo Colombia and other organizations, the Youth House was built in Altos de la Florida, a space where computer classes, English classes, and other activities are taught. Additionally, it is the place where community lunches are served.

On the other hand, the families themselves, with great effort, have managed to build and remodel their modest homes. However, many still lack decent housing, as they live in makeshift houses made of cardboard and metal, without bathrooms and sleeping on the floor.

vivienda

Community strengthening through culture and peace

Community

Many families and young people support each other in entrepreneurial initiatives, generating income and strengthening their small businesses.
Similarly, women participate in peace training processes GemPaz, Ecological Women, and female entrepreneurship.
The community participates in celebrations on special dates such as Christmas, festivals, Holy Week, among others.

There is The Community Wardrobe, through which families alleviate their needs regarding clothing, appliances, furniture, and construction materials.

6 young entrepreneurs continue generating income and 14 more are advancing in building their business ideas, on the path to economic independence.

The young people of the “Fragmentos” group take on social and community leadership roles, working in solidarity for their community and expanding the horizons of their life projects.

Reverend Guillermo Campuzano travels several times a year with a group of DePaul University students to provide support and advice regarding moral and educational structure, highlighting the importance of family values, and guiding young people to follow the right path within their society.

Let's help families have proper housing

Invest in futures

hogar

Hermana Norma Inés Bernal Velez

Founder

Originally from Antioquia, Colombia, she pursued higher studies at Colegio Santa Clara in Bogotá and attended Universidad Externado de Colombia, where she earned her degree in Social Work. She began her professional career with the Christian Youth Association, leading a program for children living on the streets. She also directed the welfare department at Florameria, a flower company, where she was part of the professional team that established a network of entrepreneurs in southwestern Cundinamarca, covering municipalities such as Madrid, Mosquera, and Funza.

At 40, she joined the Community of the Auxiliary Sisters of Purgatory. As a nun, she worked in Mexico for four years with indigenous communities. Upon returning to Colombia, she worked with displaced people, farmers, and populations affected by armed conflict in Barrancabermeja, where she also directed the Community Training School, serving 23 municipalities within the Diocese of Barranca.

Later, she moved to Bogotá and began working in the Cristo Sacerdote Pastoral Zone, assisting displaced populations as coordinator of Social Pastoral and staff at the School of Peace and Coexistence. She also led the social pastoral at the Archdiocesan Food Bank in coordination with Father Daniel Saldarriaga.

In 2004, alongside a group of lay friends, she founded the Codo a Codo association, where she has served as president and legal representative for over 20 years. Through this role, she has worked in vulnerable communities, primarily in Altos de la Florida, in the municipality of Soacha near Bogotá. The efforts there have provided opportunities to dignify the lives of children, youth, women, and seniors living in extreme poverty with significant personal and community needs. This work has been coordinated with the Codo a Codo International Organization in Chicago.

In 2005, she moved to San Sebastián, Spain, where she worked with prisoners and migrants. In 2007, she returned to Colombia and coordinated the Justice and Peace Commission of the Conference of Religious in Colombia, championing issues of peace and reconciliation.

She then joined the Colombian Communication Service (SERCODES), where she contributed to the design, planning, and execution of the "Helping to Help" project, traveling to the most violence-affected areas of the country to work with rural, displaced, and indigenous women who were victims of the armed conflict.

She was a co-founder of women’s collectives with an ecumenical perspective, bringing together female leaders working for peace, including the Collective of Thought and Action for Women, Peace, and Security, as well as GEMPAZ, the Ecumenical Women’s Group for Peace, a national organization with branches in various cities and municipalities.

One of her guiding principles has been: “With you and your people, from justice and mercy.”