09 November 2006

Former Child Combatant Gets a Fresh Start in Colombia

Partnership for a Better Life

 

USAID and Colombian Family Welfare Agency have implemented a program to educate and rehabilitate former child combatants. (© AP Images)

"I have fallen down and have been crushed, but I have overcome. It is not easy to start from nothing but I have a great desire to become a better person,”" says Tania, a former child combatant.

At 13, Tania fled home and an abusive stepfather to join an illegal armed group. Hoping to find a better life, Tania soon became disillusioned. Forced to work as a "bearer," Tania carried heavy loads of equipment, often for several days and nights on end. With no income or permanent place to live, she ate only what she could scrounge up.

Tania considered running away, but lost hope and resigned herself to spending the rest of her life as a slave. At the age of 16, she was shot during a battle and hospitalized. Deeply frightened, she sought help from a nurse to escape from the armed group. The nurse contacted her family.

Although the family had some difficulty accepting their daughter’s participation in the illegal armed group, the family eventually welcomed her back. They sought assistance from a program supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Administered by the Colombian Family Welfare Agency, the program helped with Tania’s reintegration into her family, school and community. The program provides educational support and vocational training to help girls like Tania make up for years lost and get back on track. The program also helps former child combatants overcome the trauma associated with the life they fell into at so young an age.

Tania’s days are long. Each morning she gets up at 5:30 a.m. to go to work. She returns home 12 hours later, has a break and does her homework. Her evening school program runs from 6:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Her hard work is paying off. Thanks to the program’s tutoring, Tania is catching up academically with her peers and has reached the 10th grade. In addition, she attends vocational training courses, which she hopes will advance her career.

Now 18, Tania plans to join a reintegration program run by Colombia’s Interior and Justice Ministry. Her goal after graduating from high school is to find a career in which she can help children who experience hardships similar to her own. Tania is confident that through hard work, honesty and a little help, it is possible for these youngsters to return to society. She is living proof.

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)