Bringing indigenous Elders together from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta to Aotearoa.

On their way to Aotearoa, the Elders and Jimmy transited through Chile where they had a stopover. Before boarding the final plane on their way here, Jimmy was interviewed by immigration NZ over the phone and via a phone translator, and his visa was instantly revoked. This meant that they all remained in Chile, as the Elders are not comfortable to travel internationally on their own. I submitted a follow up visa application, hoping that it would be approved in enough time for them to continue on their journey. However we are still waiting for the result of this second visa application. They now have commitments in their home territory and have had to return to Colombia. They waited as long as they could to see if they could come here. Their time in Chile was well spent, making important and fulfilling connections with indigenous networks, and the Elders were very happy to make these contacts. They are still keen to come here - once we get the result from the visa we can start making plans for the next trip, possibly in the summer. Although disappointing that they didn't make it all the way to NZ, we are viewing their journey as successful, positive and valuable. We have been in close contact throughout so I could make sure they were being well cared for in Chile which they absolutely were. I will be sending more funds for them to put towards the bridge project once they are back home. Please also see previous post. Thank you.