Empowering Displaced Families in Conflict-Areas

After over 40 years of political violence and civil war, Colombia now has the second largest population of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the world. In the last year alone, over 140,000 families were forced from their homes as a result of the violence. As a result, many families are left with scarce resources and few options to care for the health, safety and needs of their loved ones.

Since 2001, CHF International has been working to provide immediate humanitarian assistance and long term economic opportunities to these families in need. CHF provides relief in the form of psychosocial support and humanitarian kits, which include food, hygiene products, basic household items, and school supplies and shoes for children. In addition, CHF provides support through temporary and permanent shelter, vocational training, jobs creation, seed grants to begin a micro enterprise, access to microcredit, and construction of community centers and schools.

Through all of these efforts, CHF offering much needed services to IDP families in Colombia. To date, CHF has supported over 100,000 IDP families in Colombia helping them to gain security and economic stability. In the next year, we hope to reach an additional 40,000 families.

You can make a difference in the lives of men, women and children who are displaced in Colombia. By making a contribution directly to the program, you can help in the following ways:

• $25 — will purchase a school kit for one child, including shoes and school supplies
• $50 — will purchase a 3-month health and hygiene kit for one family
• $100 — will provide a habitat kit with bedding, cooking utensils and basic household supplies for one family
• $250 — will provide water and sanitation for one housing unit, providing a family with access to clean drinking water
• $500 — will provide a seed grant to a head-of-household, allowing them to either start a small business or to receive training and placement into a full time job

An Integrated Approach

CHF International's integrated National IDP Assistance program is providing vulnerable internally displaced (IDP) families with food, shelter, and opportunities to generate an income to survive in their new or temporary homes. Recognizing that the needs of displaced people go beyond three months of assistance, CHF is improving the long-term economic conditions of displaced communities by:

• providing displaced families with supplies and materials, such as blankets and toiletries;
• conducting vocational and employment training and creating permanent jobs;
• creating and supporting IDP-owned microenterprises;
• disbursing microcredit loans;
• rebuilding schools, homes and other infrastructure;
• providing permanent shelters for long-term displacement; and
• promoting conflict mitigation, prevention and resolution.

Psychosocial Support:

In addition to providing both immediate humanitarian and long-term economic assistance to IDPs, CHF is widely recognized in Colombia for providing much needed psychosocial support to displaced families who have been victimized by years of internal armed conflict. Such support facilitates social and family integration, positively addresses grief, and improves the physical and mental heath of its beneficiaries. CHF also provides IDPs access to complementary services, such as health care and replacement of identification documents when lost. All of CHF's programs with IDPs are based on a comprehensive approach meet the needs of the individual, family and community environment.

Gender-Based Violence Awareness & Prevention:

CHF International is currently implementing a project to prevent and detect gender-based violence (GBV) among internally displaced populations in Colombia. In addition to increasing awareness about GBV issues among 20,000 internally displaced families, CHF International will work strengthen the capacity of non-governmental organizations, public and private sector service providers, and community leaders to resolve community problems related to GBV. The project will also strengthen networks and coordinate support services for victims of gender-based violence.