Plan CEO reflects on Colombia school project

NIgel Chapman meeting children at the new Plan-supported school in Choco district

Faberlino (or Lino for short) introduces himself confidently as I leave Plan’s office in the Choco district of Colombia. Lino is a 12-year-old Afro-Colombian boy, living in one of the country’s poorest regions. He has come to take me on a tour of his neighbourhood, culminating in a visit to his new school.

As the jeep winds its way past the potholes and the rows of metal-roofed shacks, Lino tells me about his family and his hopes for the future. He’s looked after by his sister; his older siblings and mother are scattered many kilometres away. He is not sure where his father is.

Lino and his family are among many thousands of ‘displaced’ people in Choco, separated from their original family home and lands by 40 years of armed conflict. Despite this, he still has big ambitions: he wants to “feed the world’s poor”, and follow in the footsteps of his hero, President Obama, by being a president himself, “the President of Colombia”. He says all this with a quiet and charming insistence, which leaves a lasting impression.

Major challenges

The district of Choco is only an hour’s flight west of the Colombian capital Bogota but it feels like a different planet. The statistics support that view. Compared to the national average, it has 3 times as many people living in extreme poverty, with almost half the district’s population in this group.

Infant mortality is a staggering 90 per thousand. Only 25% of dwellings have access to running water and only 12% have any form of sanitation. A quarter of the population are described as illiterate. It is something of an understatement to say there are some major challenges for Plan, the local and national government and the people of Choco.

Quality schooling

School dinners are helping to maintain high attendance levels

As we walk in the baking heat around the narrow alleys of Lino’s neighbourhood, Lino and his friend Jenny point out the old school classrooms and canteen.  They had to rent the cramped classrooms from local landlords. Local nuns ran the canteen but it was tough keeping up with demand.

We turn a corner and the scene transforms: a light, airy modern school with a lovely hall which doubles as the lunchtime canteen. There are proper kitchens where the battle to maintain hygiene and sanitation can be more easily won.  In fact, cooked food is supplied from early morning to late in the day to encourage the youngest children to have their breakfast and dinner at school.  It is a powerful incentive for them to turn up each day. The teachers and the visiting Bishop give us a warm welcome too. The plaque at the entrance reminds visitors the school is funded by Plan Netherlands and the Dutch National Lottery. 

Learn Without Fear

Nigel Chapman joins the school children as they hold up 'Learn Without Fear' campaign posters

The school lifts the spirits, not just because of the physical presence of better buildings but the ethos, which flourishes within it. We have a presentation about Plan’s campaign against violence in school ‘Learn Without Fear’, led by the pupils in the presence of the school head and the teachers.

In the past on my visits to the field, it has been harder to persuade all the key actors in a school community to attend these sessions.  Not this time. Perhaps it is because violence is so endemic after years of paramilitary and guerrilla conflict that the community is determined to eradicate it using education.  It can also be a bulwark against recruitment into armed gangs. Make the school an attractive, welcoming and tolerant place, goes the argument, and there is less incentive to leave.

The school environment is something the community can control and something the children can control. Jenny reminds everyone “it is never too late to learn. We never had such a big school before…wow, a great school… the teachers accept the good ideas from us now. We are displaced children… they are helping us go forward, not just for today but for a better tomorrow. The teachers can direct us without fear, teach without fear. We are a family without fear.”

Children’s voices

The children are confident in speaking out and singing about their rights

The self-confident voices of children and young people are my abiding impression of Plan’s work in Choco. Passionate, full of expression, they articulate the story of our work more vividly than any adult. When they speak, people listen. And theirs is a story of progress not just against poverty, but the trauma of conflict they do not generate but have to come to terms with.

Programmes like Youth Peace Builders, Magic Box and other media projects with their emphasis on creative radio and arts feed the mind. They inspire self-esteem and dignity in young people where other forces have done their best to destroy such values.

I know Plan is widely respected in Colombia. The power of its advocacy work on behalf of “displaced children” was instrumental in the 2008 Constitutional Court decision that guaranteed their rights and forced other bodies to include them in their plans. I met some of the young people who gave evidence in this landmark hearing, children who had benefited from Plan’s programmes.
 
Of course, it is a long haul for Plan in Colombia. The sheer scale of the challenge in a country with the second highest number of ‘displaced people’ in the world  (after Sudan) would deter many non-governmental organisations - but not our team. As well as programme innovation, they are boosting local fundraising and recently doubled the number of individual donors. It is an impressive story. We should all be very proud of what Plan is doing in this fascinating yet traumatised nation. 

Learn more about Plan's work in Colombia.

Visit Plan's global Learn Without Fear campaign website.