Catalyzing Hope in Colombia
- Servant Partners
- 5 days ago
- 2 min read
Updated: 19 hours ago
Ruth Camargo shares how the Staff Catalyst Fund has blessed her work in Villa Corelca
This story is part of our Vision 2030 initiative to sustain global leaders like Ruth through the Staff Catalyst Fund. You can support this work at https://www.servantpartners.org/donate
In the Villa Corelca neighborhood of Cartagena, Colombia, the streets are unpaved and stay muddy after the rain. Many homes still lack roofs, families face daily challenges—no clean drinking water, electricity, or gas—and there remains a vast need for schools and safe recreational spaces for children.
Yet in the midst of this, Ruth Camargo walks with hope.
“I’ve always felt called to underprivileged communities,” Ruth said. “Even when people didn’t understand me, I served and walked in love for children, young people, and their families.”
That call led Ruth to Sirvientes en Cooperation—Servant Partners USA’s Latin American counterpart—where she began receiving training through the Community Transformation Certificate (CTC) program. Today, she leads a community center in her neighborhood of Villa Corelca–a safe space where families can access preschool education, mentorship programs, youth sports, vocational training, and entrepreneurship programs for migrant mothers. Ruth also helped to plant and lead a network of house churches, where families gather to worship and find hope in God.
“The community center in Villa Corelca is a safe space where families from the community can come together, and receive hope in God.”
Sustaining this kind of ministry in Colombia can be challenging. The church there is transitioning from being a mission-receiving nation to a mission-sending one, and raising personal financial support is not easy. For leaders like Ruth, that challenge could slow or even halt ministry work.
This is where the Staff Catalyst Fund comes in.
“The Catalyst Fund came into my life as an answer from God,” Ruth shared. “Thanks to the Catalyst Fund, I have been able to stabilize my income while continuing to raise support for both myself and the ministry in Villa Corelca.”
Through the Catalyst Fund, donors help bridge this crucial gap—enabling faithful leaders like Ruth to stay present in their communities while building long-term sustainability. Each gift becomes an investment not only in one person’s calling, but in an entire community’s transformation. Without this support, Ruth’s work could have been delayed.
"This Fund is critical for leaders like me in countries outside the U.S."
“This fund is critical for leaders like me in countries outside the U.S.,” Ruth Said. “Everything God does through the fund has been good. I bless all those who contribute and donate to help those of us who are just starting out in ministry without much financial support. May God multiply them.”
The Staff Catalyst Fund made it possible for children in Villa Corelca to have a safe space to learn and play, and for families to discover purpose and find God's hope together.
This partnership helps leaders like Ruth sustain in urban ministry, resourcing them to develop their own networks, assisting with costs, and providing training so they can continue growing in their calling.
Read more stories or give to the Staff Catalyst Fund → https://www.servantpartners.org/vision2030