A view of the Atrato river in Colombia. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Hispasat, together with Colombian satellite services provider Bansat, is helping to provide communications for a Colombian government humanitarian initiative called “Journey to the Heart of Atrato.” The expedition involves transporting humanitarian material and personnel to towns located on the banks of the third largest river in the country.

Because of the initiative, more than 4,000 families from the towns of Riosucio, Carmen del Darién, Bojayá, Vigía del Fuerte and Beté — in the departments of Caldas, Chocó and Antioquia — will receive kits for students and health and school supplies as well as medical attention provided by the specialists taking part in the mission. Thanks to the satellite connectivity provided by Hispasat and Bansat, the members of the expedition, who work for public agencies like the ministries of Defense and Health as well as private companies, will be able to set up the communications they need in surroundings that lack terrestrial infrastructure.

Leonardo Domínguez, Hispasat’s Country Manager for Colombia and Sales Director for the Northern Cone of South America, said that “Hispasat is committed to the effort carried out by Colombian society and its government to bridge the divide between the country’s large cities and more remote towns and to promote progress in its rural areas. That’s why it is a source of pride to contribute to helping make initiatives like this Journey to the heart of the Atrato a success.”