A BETTER HOME FOR INTERNALLY DISPLACED PEOPLE (IDPs)
Due to the armed conflict and drug-related violence in Colombia, internally displaced people (IDPs) searched for, and found, a new place to call home in Apartadó, one of the most populated municipalities in the country. Fleeing bullets and violence, these people found the courage to make a home out of this impoverished land. Sara Moreno was one of many IDPs living in a shack under plastic sheets and entering the banana plantation work force. Yet today, after obtaining a degree in Social Psychology, she is the first female president of Apartadó’s largest neighborhood.
The implementation of comprehensive neighborhood improvement programs in this town, such as improving the water supply, roads, and access to property titles, are greatly improving the quality of life of the residents.
PHOTOS
ABOUT COLOMBIA
The name Colombia is derived from the last name of Cristobal Colon (Cristopher Columbus). Colombia is the fourth largest economy in Latin America and has experienced positive developments in recent years including a growing economy and progress on peace talks. Despite this, decades of internal conflict and drug-related violence have resulted in 5,840,590 internally displaced people.
FACTS
- • Population: 48,400,388
- • 32.7% of the population lives below the poverty line; 10 % live in extreme poverty.
- • The majority of IDPs are Indigenous people and Afro-Colombians.
- • One third of all Colombian IDPs live in the Pacific Coast Departments.
- • Almost 80 % of those displaced by violence in Colombia come from rural areas.
- • The average monthly income of an internally displaced family represents a little over 41 % of the official minimum wage, equivalent to US$63 dollars.