COLOMBIA |
Disillusioned with traditional charity efforts and inspired by the creativity and resilience of his friends living amidst poverty and conflict, 26-year old Ahmsa founder Matt Alexander began to envision a different model for humanitarianism. He shared his idea with others in the streets of Bogotá and the coffee shops of Seattle, and in the spring of 2004 Ahmsa was born. Ahmsa’s original team immediately went to work building a framework designed to restore dignity, community and humility to the field of humanitarian and development work.
In the early years, Ahmsa made up for what it lacked in resources with dedication and diligence. With time, its efforts started to show unprecedented results in the communities of Colombia and today Ahmsa works alongside thousands of people as they pursue new opportunities for their families.
What is ahmsa?
The word Ahmsa means ¨to be born¨ in the Chibcha language of the Muisca people, the original inhabitants of the land that is now Bogotá (Bacata), Colombia. The Muisca people were organized under a union of states known as the Muisca Confederation, and were one of the most politically advanced civilizations in the world. As opposed to other indigenous groups in the Americas, such as the Incas and Aztecs, the Muiscas were not an Empire because they did not seek to conquer other ethnic groups. The Muisca Confederation was not a Kingdom either, for it exercised a decentralized form of governance and had no absolute monarch.
The Chibcha language was a spoken language with no written alphabet or texts. The language was banned by King Charles III of Spain on May, 10, 1770 in an effort to “de-indigenize” the population. Today, the Chibcha language is officially extinct.
Ahmsa’s name is a tribute to the original inhabitants of the land that inspired the organization’s birth and mission.