Three North Hall High School alums have taken an unusual path after college, devoting their time to telling the stories of displaced Colombians.

The group, Give Us Names, has made two trips to the South American country to make short films about those who have been forced to leave their homes.

Michael Christmas, who just returned from a six-week trek through the Colombian countryside, said it was a difficult but important journey.

His hope is that hearing stories directly from Colombians will help move people to action.

"At the end of the day, you forget statistics but you don't forget faces," Christmas said.

There are a number of reasons people are displaced in Colombia but Give Us Names wants to focus on eradicating the displacement that Americans have the greatest ability to stop: the fallout caused by the assault on the country's massive cocaine production.

For years, the U.S. has funded billions of dollars into a program called Plan Colombia an effort to curb the cocaine trade and stabilize the Colombian government and economy.

One aspect of the program is funding for planes to fumigate coca fields, the plant derivative of cocaine, and spray poisonous herbicides to kill the plants before they can be processed.

"They go out and if they see a coca field, they'll dust the entire mountain," Christmas said.

The potent chemicals seep into the soil and destroy farm land, forcing Colombians who grow crops like
bananas, cacao and coffee to leave their land in search of another way to make a living.

"When we saw how those dollars were being used, we were sold that Americans needed to know about it," Christmas said. "There's zero accountability with the money we spend."

Christmas said he and his friends all had the opportunity to travel to Africa, Central America and South America while in school.

On a mission trip to Guatemala, Christmas said a few of the guys helped build floors for people who were living in squalor. The experience triggered a desire to do something about the hardships people in other countries face.

"If I could pinpoint a start to all of it, that would be it," Christmas said.

For years, the group would talk about their individual experiences on the road, but it wasn't until they graduated from college that the time was right to put their ideas into action.

"From those travels we just noticed the enormous bubble that the United States is in as far as being aware of the rest of the world and its condition," Christmas said. "It kind of started the idea that we would one day love to take the situations we see elsewhere and bring them to the states. I don't think that for people in the states it's a matter of not caring; it's a matter of not knowing."

And while there were lots of situations that were worthy of attention, it was Colombia that came up over and over again. With so much going on, they could not believe there was so little coverage outside the region.

"In Colombia you could always read something that would make your stomach turn," Christmas said. "It was just this appearance that no one cared."

North Hall native Zack Mellette, a co-founder of Give Us Names, agreed that there was something different about Colombia.

"Outside of the states you have great poverty everywhere," Mellette said. "But in Colombia, you've got environmental issues, U.S. involvement, the issues of poverty and the war on drugs. It's just really unique."

And so the group began saving money and collecting donations for their journeys to Colombia.

"We go bare bones with things in Colombia, not to mention it's an absurdly cheap country," Christmas said. "When you get out into the bush with the farmers, you're sleeping in hammocks, not in hotels."

With the help of Colombian human rights organizations, Give Us Names was able to navigate the Colombian countryside and talk with farmers and families who have been uprooted because of the fumigation.

"Our first story is about a guy who grew cacao, which goes on to make chocolate," Christmas said. "It was fumigated five months ago. The only thing he could get money for and market is now destroyed. His family stayed there, but he spends his time wandering through cities looking for day work and sleeping wherever he can find. Every two months or so he is able to go back and sees his family and bring food with the money he's been able to make in the city."

Some others become disillusioned after their crop is destroyed, Christmas said.

"Because coca is a burly bush, a shrub essentially, after a fumigation it will take the soil on average 8 to 9 months to be ready to grow coca. It will take that same soil at least double the time to be ready to grow food crops again," Christmas said.

"When the farmer has been struggling to put food on the table for his family, he realizes he has a choice. I can wait another 9 to 10 months to be able to grow food crops or I could start growing coca. What do they do every time? They start growing coca."

Mellette said though members of the group are mostly in their early 20s, they are serious about making a long-term commitment to helping the people in the region.

Give Us Names aims to spend as much time in Colombia as
finances will allow, Mellette said.

"All these people that allow us access, they're going out on a limb for us to do that," Mellette said. "We want to be loyal ... we have to have a continued presence in Colombia."

But more than anything, it is the displaced people they talk with that encourages them to return to Colombia.

"These people are pouring their hearts out on the camera," Mellette said. "They see us as a hope and a chance and an opportunity. They expect us to deliver.

"It's a responsibility but it's also empowering."