Children in Colombia’s forgotten communities

Communications Officer, Paula Plaza, reflects on the tragedy and neglect felt by peasant farmers and their families in Colombia, and how we’re restoring their hope.

The unfair treatment of the people of Las Pavas became clear to me when I saw a newspaper cutting with a photograph of riot police pointing guns at their heads.

*The presence of armed groups is part of daily life for rural communities in Colombia*

Las Pavas is one of thousands of communities forced from their lands by armed groups during Colombia’s 50-year-long armed conflict. To date, over 6 million people have had to flee their homes fearing for their lives.

As is all too common in Colombia, rural people are left to their own devices, to fend for themselves, by a government that fails to invest in public services such as roads, schools, electricity and running water.

The poverty in this community is overwhelming; children roam the streets barefoot on dirty roads used as toilets by street dogs, pigs and donkeys.

*Marcia, 6 runs around the streets of her village. Her family had to flee from Las Pavas and now live in a nearby village.*

Nowhere to grow food

Made up of 123 families, the people of Las Pavas have been repeatedly removed from their land which has traditionally provided enough food for their survival.

This is a catastrophic consequence of the government’s encouragement of foreign investment in large-scale mining and extensive agriculture on the country’s land.

*African palm plantations (right) are largely responsible for forcing people off their lands/*

Without land to cultivate, the farmers and their families have no food. People are going hungry and children are becoming malnourished. They have lost hope. They are desperate.

We have been providing legal representation to the Las Pavas farmers of Buenos Aires — organised under the Association of Farmers of the South of Bolivar (ASOCAB) — so they can get their land back.

But legal support alone won’t address the community’s most urgent need for food.

Children in critical need

We called on our local partner, Corambiente, to help. In 2013, when Corambiente first entered Las Pavas, the nutritional situation of the children was critical, with 63% showing nutritional deficits, such as stunting.

*Marcia is weighed and measured by Carolina, a nutritionist from Corambiente who screens children for malnutrition.*

The signs of malnutrition on a little one are blatant — a reddish tint to their hair, too short or thin for their age, and dry skin — these are some of the obvious signs of chronic malnutrition.

Intestinal worms

A diet lacking in protein, minerals and vitamins is not solely responsible for causing malnutrition among the children of Las Pavas.

Intestinal worms compound the problem as the worms rob children of essential nutrients they need to thrive.

Intestinal worms are not just nasty parasites living in their gut; they impair the body’s ability to absorb the nutrients that children need to thrive.

A huge task ahead

Corambiente has a huge task in Las Pavas; not only are they identifying children who are malnourished, but they are also treating them with de-worming medicine and providing them with a nutritional food supplement to help boost their nutrition.

These activities are safe, cheap and effective, but only a starting point.

*Marcia was given a food supplement containing essential vitamins, minerals and proteins essential for her development.*

Corambiente is also training women to grow their own kitchen gardens, which gives them the fruit and vegetables for a healthy diet.

So far, Corambiente has restored the community’s morale, which was weakened by a very lengthy and unresolved legal process, and is slowly helping to meet the community’s need for food.

Until they get their land back, a kitchen garden can make a huge difference to the families affected by this long-running conflict.

*Corambiente gave Liduvina seeds and tools to allow her to grow a kitchen garden that provides fruit and vegetables for her family.*

If you would like to contribute to Corambiente’s work, so they can do more to help communities like Las Pavas, you can donate to our Easter Appeal here.