The long-lasting conflict in Colombia, with a profound impact on children in rural hard-to-reach areas, has never been closer to a resolution. And the most effective way to change perspectives and rebuild lives is through quality education--peace education. We are seeking support for a project designed to provide on-site support, learning guides and reading books to five (5) hard-to-reach rural schools (800 children) which will, in turn, serve as role models for peace education for other schools
In 2012, 451.193 children were out of school in Colombia. The majority were from rural areas where the lack of opportunities, especially in education (high illiteracy rate of 30%), makes them a very vulnerable target population for co-optation by the armed groups. In these areas, schools are located in hard-to reach places, and educational policies are scattered and discontinued many times. Furthermore, institutional capacity is low in departments and municipalities.
There is consensus that the two salient causes of the armed conflict have been: the serious social injustices that take place mainly in the most isolated rural territories and the "naturalization" of violence, meaning the acceptance of violence as a regular way of conflict resolution. Thus, our definition of "education for peace" is composed of: quality of cognitive and non-cognitive skills and a specific component that promotes a set of skills directly related to citizenship and peacebuilding.
The goal is to implement an effective bottom-up, dissemination strategy to strengthen child centered active, participatory and cooperative learning, as well as democratic attitudes and behaviors of children and the educational community in general to strengthen social fabric. By promoting an education that empowers children and nurtures in their daily routines the abilities to learn to learn, learn to coexist and relate to others, we are contributing to de-naturalize violence and building peace
