English home
Path to reintegration
Case study: Educational, financial and psycho-social support
A mother and daughter lean on the open wall of the community centre to find some shade. In the middle of this rural village in Cundinarmarca the temperature is so high there is no need for windows or doors, just a zinc roof over a concrete floor, and plastic chairs for people to use in meetings. Eliana and Diana Cruz are two of many female participants in Colombia’s reintegration programme in this area who have come to meet members of the ACR’s mobile service centre for advice on education and employment.
Demobilized combatants attempting to return to civilian life face huge challenges socially, financially and psychologically, so in order to create the conditions for their successful reintegration the ACR provides participants with economic, educational and psycho-social support. The ACR has 28 permanent service centers across Colombia usually based in urban areas where there is a large concentration of participants. The service centers provide specialists in education, financial and labour issues, health, legal matters and psycho-social counselors. A special mobile unit also exists to serve the needs of those participants in remote or dangerous parts of the country.
Twenty-seven-year-old Eliana and her mother Diana demobilized in 2006 from the autodefensas where they worked cooking and cleaning for the combatants. Like many former members of the auto-defense groups, they cite a lack of employment as their reason for having joined. The education and employment training that reintegration offers helps to alleviate the economic problems which incite some to join illegal armed groups. Individually tailored programmes are designed which offer basic and secondary education if necessary, and then vocational training designed to fit participants’ particular skills and interests.
The psycho-social aspect of the reintegration process is also one of its key pillars and recognises that communities which have been both affected by, and taken part in the conflict require social and psychological support. All demobilized participants receive individual attention, home visits and also take part in workshops. In the group activities, practical
exercises explore themes such as attitudes to education and employment, community coexistence and family relationships. Eliana believes the psycho-social support they have received has had a profound effect on their relationships.
“It has really helped us,” she says. “I have two kids and these sessions have helped me learn how to bring them up properly. You learn how to work things out with your partner too without fighting. They teach us it’s all about dialogue.”
Another participant, Ignacio Silva, who also demobilized from the AUC in 2006 agrees. “We took a big step when we demobilized, but we did it to get back the time we’d lost with our families,” he says. “The help we’ve received has helped us get on with them and to learn new things.”
Angelica Escobar has been the psychologist for this region for two years, and in that time she has noticed significant changes.
“I’ve seen a big difference in the way they manage conflict now within the family,” she explains. “People are learning how to control their tempers and better treat their partners.They’re also seeing that the responsibility to build their own futures is also in their hands. The reintegration programme will help them, but it can’t provide everything. They’re learning how to be self-sufficient and manage their own lives.”
In rural zones like these, hours from the nearest large towns, participants are also grateful for the work of the ACR in helping facilitate access to education and health services. “The mobile service centre works well for us, they’ve helped a lot. Previously we had to travel five hours to the nearest health centre,” says Eliana. “Now we’re able to visit a place that’s only an hour and a half away - it’s a huge difference.”
Unemployment remains a problem here as in many parts of the country, but with improved access to education opportunities the participants are increasing their capability to find work.
Vicente Serrato is the consultant for income generation in the mobile service centre. “Once participants have completed fifth grade we can help them with funding and business planning so they can start their own sustainable projects,” he explains. “We don’t have a magic wand to make everyone’s problems disappear, but we’re doing what we can to help people change their lives.”