Colombia

Leave your home, leave your land, leave your only source of income — your farm — or be killed. In the past few decades, nearly 4 million Colombians have been forced from their homes by violence.*

Imagine living with only the belongings you were able to carry when you fled your land, how desperately you would wish to go home and get a fresh start. But with practically no way to earn an income, how fast would you lose hope? How would your children cope? How powerless would you feel?

With violence always in the background, rural Colombians also struggle against devastating floods and landslides, lack of clean water and political corruption.

LWR’s works to help victims of violence find empowerment in rebuilding their lives, building income, getting involved in civics and gaining influence in their communities.

With your donations, LWR works to end injustice and human suffering in Colombia.

• Advocating for human rights, peace and justice in war-torn regions
• Providing psycho-social support for families that are victims of socio-political violence
• Training community organizers to be human rights leaders; teaching young people ways to promote civil participation and nonviolence
• Working with community organizations to develop community protection plans
• Encouraging youth support groups that promote income-generating opportunities and civic participation
• Helping establish community groups that get often-marginalized people involved in governance

• Helping displaced families recover, resettle and establish decent livelihoods

• Training farmers on land improvements that increase production of staple crops like yucca, corn and beans, making nutritious food more available and affordable

• Teaching or helping farmers to develop food processing and marketing strategies so that they bring in more income from the crops they produce

• Repairing and installing water systems to ensure communities have a reliable and clean source of water, and strengthening village water committees to manage and maintain their systems

45,659,709
TOTAL POPULATION

$4,990
GNI* PER CAPITA

45.5%
AT OR BELOW POVERTY LINE

73 years
LIFE EXPECTANCY

73% (rural)
ACCESS TO IMPROVED WATER SOURCE

74%
ACCESS TO IMPROVED SANITATION