Case Studies
Accompaniment with Apapacho
Change is often connected to community based leaders who know their context and are creatively engaging it in faithful ways.
In early March of 2020, as the Covid-19 virus was just beginning to erupt on a global scale, members of the team were in Holguín, Cuba facilitating an Expressive Arts in Transition group. Members of the team had been invited to work with a group of counselors and community leaders who were accompanying the families of those lost in the May 2018 plane crash.
Encounters at the Crossroads
According to the United Nations Refugee Agency 89.3 million people worldwide were forcibly displaced at the end of 2021 as a result of persecution, conflict, violence, and human rights violations.
In 2019, Umbral received an invitation to partner with groups, organizations and faith communities who were accompanying refugees and migrants at the Mexican border.
Being Human
“I felt human. It was like returning to my humanity” - Elsa Rodriguez
History has shown that when communities are able to come together for a shared and collective well being, new possibilities can emerge.
In June of 2021 the team facilitated a 4-session arts-based online workshop on tools and resources for navigating stress and trauma in connection to Covid-19 and the lockdowns. The workshop was hosted by the Museum of Memory and Tolerance in Mexico City who offer a wide range of educational workshops each month. Our team expected 50 participants and we were met with 365 people at the first Zoom session.