Colombia

in partnership with Children Change Colombia

Colombia has an estimated population of 50 million which makes it is the third biggest country in Latin America, after Brazil and Mexico. About nearly 27% of the population is 15 years old or younger.

Between 1964 and 2016 civil war between the government and a number of guerilla groups, including the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), created extreme violence, abuse and massive displacement of the civilian population. An unstable peace has been sustained since 2017 which is allowing the country to rebuild and restore rights and property. As a consequence of 52 years of armed conflict, Colombia has the highest percentage of ex- combatant children in the world, who have missed out on education and normal family lives. Poverty and inequality are extreme and evident on the streets of every city. Furthermore, the country’s challenges have also increased as it has received a large number of refugees fleeing the human rights and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela. More than 1.4 million people moved from Venezuela to Colombia between March 2017 and August 2019.

Children Change Colombia is an international NGO that works with children and their families in Colombia to challenge poverty, inequality and violence and create a better everyday life for the children and young people who are survivors or at risk from Colombia’s most neglected issues. It has a strong focus on mental health and in 2019 asked ACT International to provide mental health and PTSD training to the staff of its in-country projects. At the height of the pandemic in early 2020 we began with online training in Children & War’s teaching for recovery technique. This was followed by in-person CATT training for 20 people in 2022, and which we will follow up with a further course and training of trainers in 2023.