Colombia

Life-changing. It can be difficult to pinpoint the precise moment when your life changed, when an event occurred that undeniably altered the course of your future. Yet mine is easy: being a Youth Ambassador was life-changing. 

Colombia is known for producing some of the highest-quality coffee in the world, with its unique geography making for excellent growing conditions. More than 500,000 Colombians work in the coffee industry, fulfilling a centuries-old tradition across nearly 2.2 million acres of Colombian highlands. Coffee growing is a central part of Colombian identity and culture; however, it is also one of the sectors in which child labor is most prevalent. This reality may be worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Poverty is projected to increase by at least 20% in 2020, largely as a result of COVID-19, which could increase rates of child labor by 14%, according to a joint paper by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and UNICEF. In 2020, Partners and it’s USDOL-funded projects have continued its efforts to combat child labor, forced labor, and improve working conditions in Latin America and the Caribbean throughout the pandemic.

Según cifras oficiales, Colombia ha afrontado con relativo éxito el combate al trabajo infantil. En la última medición sobre trabajo infantil hecha por el Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística – DANE (trimestre móvil Octubre – Diciembre 2019) las cifras dan cuenta de una leve disminución en la tasa de trabajo infantil y en el número de niños, niñas y adolescentes (NNA) que participan en el mercado laboral al pasar de una tasa del 5.9% en 2018 al 5.4% en 2019.

As a crisis that heavily impacts vulnerable populations, the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic could push millions of vulnerable children into child labor. Today on World Day Against Child Labor (WDACL) Partners of the Americas commemorates its dedication to preventing child labor in Latin America and the Caribbean. Our Child Protection Unit (CPU) continues its efforts to combat child labor in the region while tackling the unique problems that COVID-19 has created.  

Just like a third of the world’s population, our Farmer-to-Farmer staff at the Washington, D.C. office and in our six field offices around the world (Colombia, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Guyana, Jamaica, and Myanmar) are currently working from home because of the COVID-19 pandemic. While it may be from the safety of our homes, today on April 22, we would like to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day.

Partners has accomplished a lot in 2019, thanks to all of our supporters and members! We have compiled our top 2019 highlights from each of the four units: the Education and Global Citizenship Unit, the Economic Development and Health Unit, the Child Protection Unit, and the Membership Unit. We are excited for all of the life-changing partnerships to come in 2020.

The Arkansas-Eastern Bolivia Chapter, which started in 1965, has led numerous exchanges primarily in the areas of health, agriculture, culture, and education. Their Youth Ambassadors (YA) Program is one of the Chapter’s most successful initiatives and therefore a best practice.

Since 2008, August 19 has been designated as World Humanitarian Day to pay tribute to the aid workers who risk their lives in humanitarian service, and to rally support for people impacted by crises around the world. In honor of this year’s theme, #WomenHumanitarians, we celebrate the contributions of all of our volunteers, especially our women volunteers. In 2018, 6,122 Partners volunteers and members served more than 11,000 hours.