When hope cannot be displaced

By: Shirley Manjarrez – Professional in TEAM Colombia Project of World Vision and USAID / Juan Sebastián Gutiérrez – Communications Professional

29-year-old Asunción was born in Copey, a small town in Colombia. She lived on a farm with her family. While her brothers went to school by bicycle, Asunción had to stay home, "For us (women) it was very difficult to study. There were many dangers on the way to school, for example men who raped girls."

On the farm, Asunción worked with the animals and kept the place clean. It was hard work for a child. "I liked to take a nap in the hammock under the mango tree. Everything felt peaceful, and the breeze took away the weariness of all that I had done during the morning." The farm was located on a hill. There was a river and a lot of fruit trees. If there wasn’t some food on the farm, they exchanged with neighbours or in the village shops.

‘People above’

However, in 2003, when Asunción was 17 years old, armed groups invaded her town and killed many people. One day, Asunción saw her neighbours coming down the hill with their belongings and some animals: "I still remember the fear I felt, some residents of the other farms said us that the ‘people above’ (members of armed groups) had been ordered to leave, and if they found someone on the farm, they would kill him."

At first, the family thought about staying in the village, but another armed group arrived and with it conflict and danger increased. Panic gripped Asunción’s family and it was when they decided to leave their home. Her parents and some of her brothers went to Venezuela and Asunción decided to go to Barranquilla, Colombian Atlantico’s department capital on the northern coast, to find a job as a domestic worker. She found a complex and difficult new world. She could barely read and write. Even housework were entirely different: "I didn’t know mop or iron. My boss taught me. She scolded me because I struggled to learn."

Over time, Asunción became accustomed to city life. Then she met her husband. Now they have two daughters, who are seven and nine years old. Asunción hadn’t spent much time in her new life, when she had to overcome another challenge: Her eldest daughter Encarnación was born with cerebral palsy, "It was a really hard time. I didn’t understand why. It has been difficult to learn how to live with the disability of Encarnación, but I always keep the desire to provide the best."

Both mother and daughter have much in common, Asunción rights were violated when she had to leave her home; Encarnación is equally vulnerable for being in disability status in Colombia, where there aren’t sufficient guarantees to improve her quality of life. 

Thanks to the intervention of World Vision in their community, through their programs of empowerment and development, Asunción has gradually overcome the fears left by the armed conflict. 

Now she faces, this time with hope, the challenge of providing security and a strong future for her daughter, who is a beneficiary of the TEAM Colombia Project, funded by USAID and coordinated by World Vision. This project aims to enable people with disabilities, especially women and girls, to get their maximum autonomy and independence. "My life was not easy, perhaps my daughter’s will not be either, but as we have to each other and the unconditional support of World Vision, there is always hope and the desire to succeed."

Asunción said that life is once more quiet. Her biggest challenge now is to pay for Encarnación’s care, added to the cost of her home, meaning she works long hours. 

After 12 years, Asunción says that it is necessary to find a sustainable and real peace, so that families can return to their homes and continue their lives.

The displaced in Colombia account for 87% of all victims of armed conflict, making displacement emerge as the greatest humanitarian tragedy in the country.