'Gota a Gota': When Fear Enters Life Drop by Drop |
I heard her story during field conversations connected to research, education, and community accompaniment work in Medellín. She did not come to denounce anyone, nor did she ask for help. She came with a story already shaped by repetition, by hours that mattered too much, and by days that never fully ended. She spoke as someone whose life had learned to count time differently, not in weeks or months, but in what could still be protected until tomorrow.
She began, as many mothers do, with her children. Four small lives defined the perimeter of every thought she carried. They slept in the same house where she sold clothes during the day, a home that shifted identities according to necessity. At night, it was shelter. In the morning, it became survival. Dresses hung from walls that once held drawings and family photos, and toys were moved aside to make room for customers. Borrowing money felt reasonable, even responsible, because hunger, eviction, and school fees felt closer and more dangerous than debt.
That is how gota a gota enters life. Drop by drop.
The term gota a gota, literally “drop by drop,” refers to an informal lending system that demands daily payments with daily interest. What defines it is not only the amount owed, but the rhythm it imposes. Fear does not arrive suddenly. It accumulates slowly, patiently, until it becomes routine. Over time, that routine reshapes how time, safety, and choice are experienced. Life begins to move at the pace of the debt.
She described how quickly the money arrived. Faster than a bank. Faster than any public institution. Faster than hope usually moves in neighborhoods where urgency is constant and protection unreliable. There were no forms, no questions, no delays. Speed is part of the........