CRS Work in Colombia
Integral Assistance for the Displaced and Refugee Population
Trapped in a constant cycle of violence, fear and dire poverty, thousands of Colombians are forced to leave their homes and fields every year. Two-thirds of Colombia’s internally displaced people live in inadequate housing. Their rate of disease is six times higher than the national average, and while they are entitled by law to health care, most don’t receive it.
In 2000, Catholic Relief Services formed the In Solidarity with Colombia program, a joint program between CRS Colombia and the Catholic National Secretariat for Social Ministry-Caritas Colombiana. The joint program supports projects that provide food, health services and legal assistance to thousands of displaced Colombians. One project, funded in part by the World Food Program, provides food assistance, psychosocial support and legal assistance to approximately 13,075 displaced families and other vulnerable Colombians in nine dioceses. Every participating diocese in the World Food Program has developed contingency plans that provide people with coping strategies and methods to effectively avoid the violence that surrounds them.
With the help of our partners, the joint program works to safeguard Colombia’s most vulnerable groups and galvanize the national and international community into action by exposing the long-term impact of the country’s prolonged conflict. In 2006, the National Catholic Ministry Secretariat and the Consultancy for Human Rights and Displacement, a Colombian organization that advocates for the displaced, updated a groundbreaking study of forced internal displacement. This has led to increased protection of displaced people by the Colombian government as well as national and international organizations.
In addition, the joint program helped create a database containing valuable information on displaced individuals in Colombia, a tool that further enables the Church and others to understand and respond to their growing needs. The database contains a collection of interviews that chronicle the challenges displaced Colombians face, raising awareness about their plight.
The Border Ministry Project
To tackle the challenging situation on the Colombia-Ecuador border, an area plagued with narcotics traffic and illegal arms trade, the joint program formed the Border Ministry Project. The project, which includes four dioceses each in Ecuador and Colombia, encourages displaced people, refugees and marginalized ethnic groups to participate in the social, economic and political aspects of their communities. From lessons in conflict prevention to initiatives that offer income-generating opportunities, the project works to unify communities around a plan for development and economic stability.
Education for Peace and Reconciliation
To address long-term issues and to reduce future violence, CRS and Caritas Colombia have supported the School for Peace and Coexistence for 15 years. This roving school is an innovative, grass-roots program that has provided 13,000 community leaders with a deeper understanding of the decades-long armed conflict in Colombia and of their personal role in addressing its consequences at the community level. The curriculum and methodology strengthen local organizations and Church teams, adapting to the specific needs of the area in which they are implemented.
The joint program also conducts workshops in fear management and healing for local Church partners who then replicate the workshops in their communities. From understanding civilian rights to addressing difficult emotions in the wake of violence, these workshops teach skills that allow people to overcome trauma and to work for peace and reconciliation in their own lives.
From the Colombian National Reconciliation Conference—which brings together local, national and international leaders every two years—to an array of forums held around the country, CRS and partners create space in which human rights and reconciliation are discussed and innovations for building peace in Colombia are developed.
Advocacy and Solidarity
A crucial component of the joint program is a commitment to raising awareness among Colombians and in the United States about the crisis facing Colombia and the enormous efforts needed to establish a lasting peace. Working with a host of civil society organizations, the advocacy unit of the Catholic National Secretariat for Social Ministry-Caritas Colombiana advocates for policies that respond to the underlying social and economic conditions driving the current conflict, and for humanitarian aid for the millions of Colombians affected by the conflict.
As part of a coalition of more than 130 civil society and grass-roots organizations known as the Alliance of Social and Related Organizations, CRS is helping to develop an international cooperation strategy geared toward peace, the recognition of human rights and democracy.
To further increase awareness and advocate for the rights and protection of the displaced, the Church supports national and international campaigns. Carried out through an alliance of Church and civil society organizations, the Peace is Possible in Colombia Campaign raises awareness about the humanitarian crisis in Colombia and encourages international support for a negotiated and just peace.
The Youth in Solidarity Cyber Bridges project connects students in the Diocese of Quibdó to peers in the Diocese of Hartford, Connecticut, via internet technology. Quibdó, located in the western province of Chocó, has been particularly affected by the armed conflict and is one of the most remote and neglected territories in Colombia. The project, piloted in a school built by the Diocese of Quibdó to serve the internally displaced population, provides marginalized youth with the unique opportunity to engage with peers in the United States, fostering cross-cultural understanding and awareness.
