Colombia

Malnutrition in Colombia

According to the WHO around 45% of deaths among children younger than five are linked to malnutrition. That is a global total of 3.1 million per year. Vulnerable populations and refugees are at the most risk, and they often fall victim to a cycle of poverty that is hard to escape from. This is also the case for migrants from Venezuela in the department of La Guajira in the north of Colombia. Malteser International supports children and pregnant women affected by malnutrition.

Youth Leadership School: Ruth is a change maker!

The province of La Guajira in northern Colombia offers young people few prospects. Poverty, unemployment and climate change are just a few of the problems the region is facing. Ruth Uriana de Armas and 49 other indigenous and Afro-Colombian youths have made it their task, against all odds, to bring about change in their homeland.

Training midwives in Colombia's indigenous communities

For centuries, traditional birth attendants and midwives like Juanita have played a key role for pregnant women in indigenous communities. Their years of experience and knowledge of natural medicine have earned them trust and respect as invaluable providers of rural maternal care. However, most traditional birth attendants are often incapable of handling obstetric complications, leading to high maternal and infant deaths.

By training local midwives, Malteser International is helping to provide the skilled care indigenous women in Colombia need to give birth safely.

Venezuela/Columbia: A future in the midst of crisis.

Colombia has taken in almost one million refugees from Venezuela. Ana, Iris and Carlos are all seeking a better life and a better future in Colombia. These are their stories:

The plight of an indigenous Venezuelan refugee

Ana Ofelia González Cantillo is a 35 year old indigenous Colombian Wayuu woman who left Colombia 30 years ago for a better life. Up until recently she lived in Venezuela, but now Ana and her six children are refugees in her own country. After nearly starving, she and her family crawled underneath a dug out section of the city wall separating the two countries with only a chair and a hammock in hand.

Jairo and Simona : a fight for survival

Jairo was born in Colombia but moved to Venezuela when he was just a child. Thirty years later, when times became too difficult and he and his family made the decision to flee the humanitarian crisis in Venezuala, his homeland of Colombia welcomed him with open arms, even after not living in the country for decades.

The chance of a better future

Jimmy Chacon and his family have been fleeing from armed violence in Colombia for years. Half a century of brutal civil war have forced almost seven million people from their homes. Thanks to the conclusion of a tentative peace, however, hope is beginning to bloom again.