In January of 2005 the Colombia Peace Presence Team entered into a partnership with three Colombian social change groups to support their work through periodic accompaniment, translation, publicity, and more. By clicking on the links below, you will find more information on the organizations, as well as documents that FOR has translated for the groups:
- The Medellín Youth Network [1] (Red Juvenil de Medellín)
The Medellin Youth Network was formed 15 years ago to offer support to young people opposed to the war. They work on finding alternatives to entering an armed group for youth in the cities and give support to those who have decided to become conscientious objectors. A lot of the Network's work takes place in the poor neighborhoods of the city, where they run after school programs and use art and music to educate youth about their rights and help creat a social fabric. - Asociación Campesina de Antioquia [2](Peasant Farmers Association of Antioquia - ACA)
The ACA works with displaced farmers and their families in Antioquia, many of whom have been forced to live in makeshift houses on the outskirts of Medellin where they have no access to basic services and where theres is no decent land for them to work. Many are forced to beg in the street to provide for their families. The ACA also works to put the problem of Antioquia in a national perspective: a team of filmmakers travels across Colombia making documentaries about rural, afro-Colombian and indigenous communitie who find themselves caught in the middle of Colombia's war. - AMOR [3](Antioquia Women's Association)
AMOR is a women's group based in Eastern Antioquia. The organization believes that the conflict in Colombia affects its female population as deeply as it does its male. It works to support women in all aspects of their lives. Some of AMOR's projects include psychological support to women who have lost family members to the war, training to help women assume the role of sole provider for their families, support for women who have been sexually violated or physically abused as well as a project called "from the home to the town square" ("de la casa a la plaza"), which aims to give women the tools to transform themselves from housewives and mothers to professional women.