Since 1974, Compassion has been working in Colombia to lift children out of poverty in Jesus’ name. Today, more than 62,200 children are benefiting from Compassion’s support and care at 235 child development centers across the country. Every one of these children receives the nutrition, access to health care and educational support they need to overcome poverty and grow into fulfilled, self-sufficient adults.
Decades of armed conflict between government forces and the FARC rebels have taken their toll on the most vulnerable in Colombia. Caught in the crossfire of a vicious civil war, 3.6 million innocent civilians have been internally displaced since 2000. Most of these are women and children who end up living in shanty towns on the outskirts of cities, with little or no access to education, safe water or health care.
Nearly 28 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, and 6.1 percent lives in extreme poverty, on less than US$1.90 a day. According to UNICEF, one in ten children suffers from chronic malnutrition, which stunts their growth and can have irreversible cognitive and intellectual effects. Compassion treats malnutrition by supplementing children’s diets, and every Compassion-assisted child eats at least one nutritious meal a week at their local child development center.
School is free and compulsory for five years in Colombia, but a lack of quality infrastructure and qualified teachers means many children drop out, especially in rural areas. About 25 percent of children never attend secondary school, and these are particularly vulnerable to becoming involved in drug-related crime and gang culture, which claims thousands of lives each year. Nearly 1 million Colombian children are engaged in child labor.
Compassion is striving to create the conditions in which every child in Colombia has access to a good education, in which every child has enough food to eat, and in which every child can reach their God-given potential. Our child development centers provide an essential base for these efforts. They are staffed by workers who are dedicated to improving children’s lives in Jesus’ name and to reaching out to those most in need.
Quick Facts
- More than 13 million people are living in poverty in Colombia.
- 9 percent of the population does not have access to an improved sanitation facility.
- Nearly 27 percent of people in rural Colombia do not have access to a source of safe drinking water.
- Slightly less than 95 percent of the population can read and write.
- One-third of Colombian children suffer from anemia.
Sources: CIA, The World Fact Book 2015; UNICEF, The State of the World’s Children, 2015; The World Bank.