Colombia
Newsline
Floods create a ‘ghost town’, putting young lives on hold in Córdoba, Colombia
PALO DE AGUA, Colombia 23 October 2007 – From the highway connecting Cereté with Lorica, you can begin to see how flooding has affected this zone of the Department of Córdoba. Although the trunks of the coconut palms remain standing, what used to be fertile land looks like a swamp.
Deadly landmines threaten the lives and well-being of children in rural Colombia
NEW YORK, USA, 4 April 2007 – Nearly six years ago, when Irma Janeth was 10, she accidentally set her left foot on a landmine while walking through the woods in her hometown of Quebradona, rural Colombia. The explosion tore off one of her legs instantly, and left her unable to bear children.
Caracol Radio brings young voices to Colombia’s airwaves
NEW YORK, USA, 27 November 2006 – Colombia’s children and young people have actively participated in the International Children’s Day of Broadcasting (ICDB) since 1997 and have twice received the special honour presented at the International Emmy Awards for television programming produced to celebrate ICDB.
Alliance aims for universal birth registration in Latin America and Caribbean
BOGOTA, Colombia, 8 August 2006 – Birth registration provides crucial protection to children, proving their identity and nationality and protecting them from exploitation and abuse – including child labour, trafficking and early marriage.
Football helps Harold Chavez, 14, find peace in a Colombia shantytown
MONTERO, Colombia – In the harsh shadows thrown by two bare bulbs, Harold Chavez, 14, grinds manioc to make meat pasties that his mother will sell in the morning at her roadside stall in the northern Colombian city of Monteria.
Colombia education project reaches children kept out of school by conflict
MEDELLIN, Colombia, 20 June 2006 – Every day after school, Johana Agudelo Norena, 11, climbs 300 steps from the road to her house at the top of the Las Mirlas shantytown in Medellin. By now she is used to arriving tired and muddy, but the important thing for her is being able to study again.
Nicaragua and Colombia: Young people help improve water safety in their communities
MEXICO CITY, Mexico, 4 April 2006 – At the Children’s World Water Forum, held in Mexico’s capital from 16 to 22 March, children reported to one another on their water and sanitation projects around the globe – including some important initiatives here in Latin America. Following are profiles of two such projects in Nicaragua and Colombia, and the young activists behind them.
Violence in Colombia displaces indigenous families
NEW YORK, 29 April 2005 - Intense fighting in the Cauca region of Colombia between FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) guerrillas and the Colombian Army region since 14 April has displaced more than 6,000 people, including more than 3,000 children.
Colombian government reviews commitment to children
BOGOTÁ, Colombia, 9 March 2005 - Top-ranking government officials attended a meeting today at the Tequendama Hotel in Bogotá to review more than 1000 proposed national and regional development plans and determine whether they adquately address children’s issues. The meeting was organized by the office of the Attorney General of Colombia with support from UNICEF.
Flood emergency declared in Colombia
The government of Colombia declared a state of emergency in eight states, as torrential downpours have caused dangerous floodwaters and landslides affecting 49,660 families and 251, 717 people, according to the Colombian Red Cross.
Queen Noor of Jordan meets Colombian children maimed by mines
BOGOTA/NEW YORK, 28 October 2004 – Four weeks ahead of the World Summit on Landmines in Nairobi, Kenya, Queen Noor of Jordan visited Colombia to meet with children maimed by landmines. Her visit helped mark the destruction of the government’s landmine stockpiles. Some 23,000 mines were destroyed in a simultaneous explosion at the capital Bogota and the northern city of Barranquilla.
