Young men and women, demobilized from illegal armed groups 
are receiving training as motorbike and diesel engine mechanics;
bakery assistants; graphic design technicians; sales and marketing
management assistants; assistant butchers; waiters and waitresses
in bars and restaurants; and general services assistants in
hospitals.

Four IOM-managed projects financed by the United States Agency
for International Development (USAID) are making it possible for
the 300 participants to receive training for a successful
reintegration into civil society.

At the end of six months of training, the participants will have
the necessary skills to enter the job market in the city of
Medellin.  The training courses correspond to the needs
expressed by businesses in the region.

For Carlos Álvarez, who is training to be a diesel engine
mechanic, the best thing about this initiative has been the change
it has made in his life.  "This is a real opportunity of not
having to conform but to move forward," Carlos says.  He hopes
to set up his own business at the end of his training.

Medellin is one of the main recipients of demobilized persons in
the country.  Currently, 3,117 demobilized persons are
actively participating in the reintegration process in that
city.

According to Colombia's High Commissioner for Reintegration
51,000 persons have demobilized from illegal armed groups; 35,000
of them as a result of negotiations between the Colombian
Government and the armed groups between 2003 and 2006. 

The demobilization, disarmament and reintegration (DDR) process
includes psychosocial support, income generation projects and
occupational training to ensure that the ex-combatants will not
return to illegal activities.

In 2006, IOM began implementing its Community-Oriented
Reintegration Assistance Programme.  With funding from USAID,
the programme supports the Government's Peace Process by helping
demobilized persons and their families to reintegrate into civilian
life, and victims gain access to truth, justice and
compensation.  So far, 129 projects have been approved helping
some 60,000 persons including the demobilized, their families, the
receiving communities and victims of the illegal armed groups.

For more information, please contact:

Jorge Andrés Gallo

IOM Bogota

Tel. + 5715946410 Ext. 142

E-mail: "mailto:jgallo@iom.int">jgallo@iom.int