Colombia's First Lady, Doctor Lina Maria Moreno de Uribe, is today
visiting a school refurbished under the Plan Padrino, or Godfather
Programme, an alliance headed by the President's Office that is
making education accessible to vulnerable children, particularly
those affected by internal displacement.

IOM provided technical support as part of its programme
“Post-emergency Assistance for Internally Displaced, Host
Communites and Vulnerable Populations”, funded by the United
States Agency for International Development (USAID).  Funding
was also provided by the Japanese Embassy, the National Federation
of Coffee Growers and the Municipality.

The Niño Jesús de Praga School in Popayan in the
Department of Cauca, is a perfect example of how international
organizations and governments can join forces to assist the most
vulnerable victims of violence and forced displacement. Cauca has
about 56,000 displaced people in the department.

The school has seen an increase in enrolment following the
construction of new classrooms, offices, bathrooms, a library, and
the provision of furniture. It is now benefiting about 1,000 people
including children, teachers and families through activities that
go beyond the normal curriculum. This is partly due to IOM ‘s
Open Door Strategy carried out in conjunction with the Colombian
Ministry of Education, which provides displaced children the
opportunity to continue their studies until they are able to
integrate into the normal school system.  It also allows
schools to be kept open and in operation every day of the year so
that adults can continue their education and to provide a place for
the community to gather.

According to Colombian government data, there were more than
1.73 million people in December 2005 who were internally displaced
in the country. About 50 per cent of these were children under 18
years of age while about 90 per cent of the displaced have moved
from rural to urban areas where they face a completely different
lifestyle.

A major problem resulting from this rural to urban move has been
school dropout, largely due to economic reasons, which in turn is
making children vulnerable to teenage pregnancies drug abuse and
increased chances of being recruited by illegal armed groups.

The main objectives of the Plan Padrino are to guarantee access
to and continued school attendance of children, relevant training
programmes for teachers, and to strengthen educational
institutions.

This alliance, implemented in 10 municipalities, is improving
facilities and providing a new educational approach that involves
students, teachers, families as well as community members.

For more information contact

Rocio Sanz

IOM Colombia

Tel: +57.311 5619495 / 57.1.622 77 74 ext. 114

Email: "mailto:rsanz@oim.org.co" target="_blank" title=
"">rsanz@oim.org.co