Colombia
For more than 40 years Colombia has suffered from civil war, poverty, insecurity, corruption and drug trafficking. In the last 20 years 4 million people have been forced to leave their homes because of the fighting.
Armed groups regularly recruit children. It’s estimated there are up to 14,000 child soldiers. Two-thirds of the population live below the poverty line. 2.5 million children between the ages of 5 and 15 work, most of them (85%) in the worst forms of child labour.
- We’re protecting more than 78,000 children from violence and abuse
- We’re helping 100,000 children get a better education
- We’re helping vulnerable communities prepare for natural disasters
Save the Children in Colombia
We’ve worked in Colombia since 1991, focusing on improving children’s access to quality education. We’ve helped thousands of children avoid recruitment into armed groups, and we continue to find ways to protect children and young people from violence and exploitation.
A total of 205,000 children have benefited from our work in the last year alone.
We’re protecting children from violence and abuse
It’s estimated that there are between 11,000 and 14,000 child soldiers in illegal armed groups.
Children are used as messengers, spies, informants, human shields, guards, human mine detectors, participants in suicide missions and for combat operations.
With funding from the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO), we’re helping displaced and other vulnerable children in Bolivar to protect themselves from being recruited.
We support local initiatives, such as a radio station run by young people to educate their peers on issues like self-protection, forced recruitment, abuse and children’s rights.
We’re helping the authorities strengthen and implement protection systems to prevent sexual violence, child abuse and children being recruited into armed forces.
We’re training teachers, carers and local authority staff how to identify children at risk and provide appropriate community-based care. We’ve reached 3,000 teachers, 200 local authority staff and 400 community leaders.
We’re making sure vulnerable children get a good education
Almost a quarter of Colombia’s 12 million children aged 5—17 are not in school due to poverty, displacement and violence. And three-quarters of displaced children don’t have access to school. Only 34% of the school-age population receives an education that meets government quality standards.
We’ve supported 45 schools through six partner organisations, using both formal and nonformal education activities that have benefited more than 100,000 children and young people directly. We’ve trained 850 teachers in flexible and age-appropriate learning methods.
Making schools inclusive is an important part of our programme. Children with disabilities are often excluded from school because teachers don't feel able to teach them. We’re working with a local organisation, the Luis Felipe Velez Foundation, to help children who are excluded because of physical disability, displacement or poverty.
With funding from coffee producer Fine Foods International (FFI), makers of Fair Instant, we're supporting 18 schools in Quindio Department. We provide free school lunches, uniforms, books and other materials.
We’re helping children and families hit by natural disasters
Colombia is prone to natural disasters such as flooding. Many of those worst affected have already been forced from their homes by the country’s long-running internal conflict. In Bolivar, we’re involving children in working with schools, governments and NGOs to draw up plans to make sure that children are protected from violence, abuse and exploitation during emergencies.
Find out more
Download the full country brief (PDF 79KB) for more information.
Learn more about our work in Colombia, download our Children's Rights Fact Sheet (PDF 690KB).
Or read Cristhian's story to see how we're helping disadvantaged children get an education, in partnership with Fine Foods International - makers of FAIR INSTANT coffee.
Descargar este documento para enterarse de qué hacemos en Colombia (PDF 153KB).
