LEGO Foundation Program Visit to IRC Colombia

140,570 People impacted by the IRC. Data from 2019 to June 2022.

Current situation with Venezuelan people:

• Norte de Santander is a Colombian border department (state) with Venezuela. As of February, 2022, there were approximately 17,000 people crossing the border from Venezuela to Norte de Santander every day. (R4V, 2022)
  
• There are approximately 253,911 Venezuelan people living in Norte de Santander becoming the third largest hosting department. (Migración Colombia, 2022)
• San Jose de Cucuta is the capital, currently hosting 66% of Venezuelan population in the department. (Migración Colombia, 2022)
• Norte de Santander has one of the main official crossing points for Venezuelans called the Simon Bolivar International Bridge. However, thousands of people continue to cross through “trochas”, unofficial crossing points, often controlled by non-state armed groups, causing extreme risks for people.
• Norte de Santander hosts Venezuelans tying to resettle in the region, Venezuelans in transit heading to other parts of the country or continent and Venezuelans who cross the border daily to access basic goods in Colombia.

Why our work matters:

Venezuelans continue to face many needs that require immediate attention including lack of access to primary, sexual and reproductive healthcare, housing, food, and job opportunities. Thousands of Venezuelans are forced to use alternative routes at the border facing risks including sexual violence, theft, child exploitation. As unemployment continues to rise, many Venezuelans are left with nothing to cover for basic goods and many people including children are forced to work as sexual workers. Approximately 3,000 children who live in Tachira, border city in Venezuela with Colombia cross daily to access education in Colombia. And another 19,000 children already living in the region are enrolled in school. However, access to schools for children and teenagers is limited despite government’s policy to guarantee education to every child no matter their immigration status.

What we do:

In 2018, the IRC began operations in Norte de Santander. Through one implementing partner as well as direct implementation, the IRC responds through programs in:

Education:In Norte de Santander the program supported 2741 children with play-based experience on the migratory route. 101 ECD teachers' strength their capacities and adapt their practices for supporting 1357 children in migratory emergency context. Also, the IRC is supporting 100 Venezuelan for coming back to school by implementing the flexible education model named Learning Circles.

Health:The IRC has strategically placed its clinics and temporary health units across Norte de Santander to meet urgent needs of Venezuelans. Our health team also goes to communities to provide healthcare once a week. Services include:

• Primary healthcare including general medical campaigns, laboratory exams and access to medicines,
• Sexual and reproductive healthcare including safe abortion, access to contraceptives, and prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted infections.
  

Economic recovery and development: We provide multipurpose cash to people and family groups in extreme vulnerability to fulfill basic needs and avoid negative coping strategies.

Livelihoods:The IRC is supporting communities through employment training, entrepreneurship literacy and seed capital to ensure they can gain economic and social stability.

Child protection:Our response focuses on prevention of child abuse, family violence, and begging. Through our safe spaces we provide information sessions to develop the capacity of mothers, fathers, and caregivers to share practices for affectionate care and opportunities for early learning to families in transit.

Women’s protection and empowerment: Through case management, we offer psychosocial support to female survivors of gender-based violence (sexual, physical, psychological) and through prevention we train communityleaders so they can become advocates and provide workshops to women.

36,881 people impacted by IRC. Data from 2020 to June 2021.

Current situation of Venezuelan people in Cundinamarca:

• Cundinamarca is currently hosting 649,159 Venezuelan people with Bogota, capital of Colombia, being the largest hosting city for Venezuelan people (495,236 Venezuelans currently living in the city). (Migración Colombia).
• Soacha is the 10th largest hosting city with 43.831 currently living there.
• In Bogota, 88% of Venezuelans intends to stay, but there are still barriers to their integration and economic stability in the country. (Personería de Bogotá, UNHCR, 2021).
  

Why our work matters:

Despite the temporary protection permit that allows Venezuelans to access Colombia’s protection system, barriers to their integration, development and security continue. According to Migración Colombia, there are still around 300,000 people undocumented.

Even for those documented, accessing health care has been a challenge due to the lack of information about the process and the lack of awareness by institutions to provide care to people. According to DANE, 66% of the Venezuelan population in Colombia does not have access to health care. Gender-based violence continues to impact people. According to a report by the Consultancy for Human Rights and Displacement, 62.9% of the people who have suffered sexual violence are underage. Employment opportunities are limited. More than 75% of people continue to work in the informal sector exposing them to greater risks of being exploited and not receiving a living wage.

IRC’s holistic response, hand in hand with local organizations, is fundamental for the Venezuelan population to have a decent life and well-being.

What we do:

Through six local organizations and direct operations, the IRC responds to the needs of Venezuelans with programs in health, education, child protection, women’s protection and empowerment, economic recovery, and development, and strengthening access to information through our InfoPa'lante platform.

Education: In Cundinamarca the program supported 1645 children with play-based experience on the migratory route. 108 ECD teachers' strength their capacities and adapt their practices for supporting 1991 children in migratory emergency context. Also, IRC is opening a play space in Bogotá for developing a community-based learning model. Finally, 400 students and 18 teachers are implementing an Audio Class Sistem.

Livelihoods:The IRC is supporting communities through employment training, entrepreneurship literacy and seed capital to ensure they can gain economic and social stability.

Health: Through partners and direct implementation we provide: (1) Primary healthcare including general medical campaigns, laboratory exams and access to medicines, (2) Sexual and reproductive healthcare including safe abortion, access to contraceptives, and prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted infections.

Child protection: Our response focuses on prevention of child abuse, family violence, and begging. Through our safe spaces we provide information sessions to develop the capacity of mothers, fathers,and caregivers to share practices for affectionate care.

Women’s protection and empowerment:Through the case management methodology, we offer psychosocial support to female survivors of gender-based violence (sexual, physical, psychological) and through prevention we seek to empower women. We also have a safe house that provides refuge to women and their children at risk.

Economic recovery and development:We provide multipurpose cash using various modalities to people and family groups in extreme vulnerability to fulfill basic needs and avoid negative coping strategies.

InfoPa’lante:It is a digital service platform (part of SignPost) that provides key information to Venezuelan people on how to access vital services. Moderators and humanitarian specialists create dialogue with affected populations, remain responsive to users’ questions, and adapt content and service models throughout the full arc of a crisis –from onset to stabilization.

63,677 people impacted by the IRC. Data from 2019 to June 2022.

Current Situation of Venezuelan people in Antioquia:

• Antioquia is the second department in Colombia with the largest number Venezuelan people and Colombian returnees (264,148).
• In 2021, there was a total of approximately 148,714 Venezuelan people, an increase of 65% since 2018 who are concentrated in the Metropolitan Area of Medellin, followed by Bello with a total of 23,862, representing an 70% increase.
• Only 12,000 people from Venezuela have entered the subsidized regime.
  

Why our work matters:

Antioquia has become an important place for Venezuelans who are trying to stay in Colombia to rebuild their lives. Despite Venezuelans having access to the temporary protection permit, many of them continue to face barriers when accessing health care, education, housing and formal job opportunities. IRC is implementing programs to strengthen the integration of Venezuelans.

What we do:

The IRC has been operating in collaboration with local partners in Medellin since February 2019 to deliver:

Education: IRC works hand in hand with local organizations to enhanced children holistic development and social cohesion, in migratory emergency contexts.

IRC is developing the JuJú approach in Medellin supported by the LEGO foundation and will implement the second phase of Play to dream aiming to strength the education systems capacities in ECD centers, schools, communities and homes.

IRC also in Medellin aims to increase schooling among children and youth who currently do not have access to education, and to strengthen the educational performance of those who need it to achieve their goals. In collaboration with the Norwegian Refugee Council (NCR) and Airbel Impact Lab, we provide language, math, social sciences, and natural sciences classes to teenagers in Venezuela through digital content including audio, video and text. These resources are received through WhatsApp along with tutoring given in community spaces in Medellín.

Health:Through local providers and direct operations, the IRC offers health care services in person and through telemedicine which includes:

• Primary healthcare for those who do not have health insurance.
• Abortion care.
• Family planning, including short-and long-term contraceptive methods.
• Diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted infections.
• Clinical care for women survivors of gender-based violence.
• Permanent sterilization (vasectomy and tubectomy).

Child Protection: The IRC seeks to promote healthy parenting skills, access to education for children and adolescents, strengthen the prevention of child abuse, domestic violence, begging and provide case management. In collaboration with the Medellín Mayor's Office, we identified shelters to provide these prevention trainings to caregivers. In collaboration with local partners, we have designed and installed Espacio sin Fronteras, a safe space located in Comuna 10 in the Boston neighborhood.

Livelihoods: The IRC seeks to bring economic and social stability to Venezuelan families. Through employability orientation including resume development, job search and interview preparation, we help Venezuelans to find a job. In collaboration with Minuto de Dios, we support people who want to become entrepreneurs through support in the development and implementation of their business plan and access to seed capital.

Economic and recovery development:We deliver multipurpose cash through different modalities to individuals or family groups in extreme vulnerability conditions to facilitate access to their basic needs, avoiding negative survival strategies. The profile of people includes households with children under 5 years of age, pregnant or lactating women, elderly adults in charge of the household, food insecure, at risk of eviction, with people with disabilities or illness and/or people or groups that adopt negative food or non-food survival strategies.

Women’s Protection and Empowerment:Through the case management methodology, we provide psychosocial support to women survivors of gender-based violence (sexual, physical, psychological and/or patrimonial). In collaboration with the Secretary of Women’s Affairs in Medellín, we provide guidance for access to institutional offerings and promote the creation of support networks through information sessions and mobile safe spaces in which women, adolescents and girls are empowered with emotional strategies.

4,049 People impacted by the IRC.

Current situation with Venezuelan people:

• Valle del Cauca is a department located at the southwest of Colombia and is currently hosts 193.440 Venezuelan people becoming the fourth largest hosting department for Venezuelans in the country.
• Cali is the capital of Valle del Cauca hosting 63% of Venezuelan in the department.
• Almost 60% of Venezuelans continue to work in the informal sector having no safety net.

Why our work matters:

Valle del Cauca has become an important region for Venezuelans who are trying to rebuild their lives in the country. However, the integration process continues to be difficult as many continue to face barriers when accessing health care, education, housing and/or job opportunities. According to a study by Proyecto Migración Venezuela, only 64.3% of Venezuelan families who have lived in the region for one year had their children enrolled in school. Despite current policy stating that every child can access education no matter their immigration status, 52% of families whose children were out of school reported that lack of economic resources to pay for school and not being accepted because of lack of documentation were main reasons of not being able to enroll their kids in school.

Our programs:

In 2021, the IRC expanded its education program in Valle de Cauca to ensure children and teenagers can access education in the country. IRC’s education program seeks to enhance children’s holistic development and social cohesion, in migratory emergency context. In Valle del Cauca, the program supported 2,148 children with play-based experience on the migratory route. 104 Early Childhood Development teachers strengthened their capacities and adapted their practices to support 4,252 children in the migratory emergency context.IRC is opening a play space in Cali for developing a community-based learning model.

Current situation with Venezuelan people:

Ipiales is a border town along the main migratory route for the Venezuelan migrant population traveling towards Ecuador.

• Currently, there are more than 42 irregular border crossings (IMMAP 2021) where migrants are exposed to risks, including human trafficking, sexual exploitation, theft, homicide and drowning. These border crossings are controlled by armed groups.
• Through October 2021, Nariño hosted 12,000 Venezuelan migrants, with more than 70% located between the capital, Pasto, and the border city with Ecuador, Ipiales according to Migración Colombia.
• There is a convergence of Venezuelan migrant and refugee population, Colombian returnees, victims of the Colombian internal armed conflict, ethnic communities (indigenous population have 11 councils in the city) and transcontinental population (mainly Haitian, Ecuadorian, and African).
• There is a lack of state response to vulnerable populations’ needs.
• Since May 2021, the IRC and local partners have served 12,194 people through its health, child protection and women’s protection and empowerment programs. The IRC has directly served more than 757 women, especially those in transit, with sexual and reproductive healthcare.

Why our work matters:

Ipiales is a border town between Colombia and Ecuador. According to IOM, between June and December 2021, nearly 5,800 Venezuelans traveled to the area. Approximately 51% were between 18-59 years of age, with 23% women and 27% men. Some 37% were girls, boys, and adolescents, while 13% were elderly. During the last trimester of 2021 alone more than 2,300 persons traveled towards the Colombian-Ecuadorian border seeking to arrive at a southern country. IRC’s response addresses the needs of the most vulnerable individuals that arrive at the south west frontier of the country seeking to attain a third country, such as Ecuador, Peru, Chile, or Argentina. The mitigation of essential needs in the health, child protection, women’s protection and empowerment, and economic recovery and development sectors, helps ease the pressure on the response by the public sector, while also countering xenophobia and aporophobia (fear of poor people) in host communities.

What we do:

Through five implementing partners as well as direct implementation, the IRC responds through programs in health, child protection, women’s protection and empowerment, education, economic recovery and development, and Infopa’lante. Through our own IRC staff, we provide technical assistance and capacity building for partners and directly complement the actions of local partners.

Health:Through partners and direct implementation we provide: (1) Primary healthcare including general medical campaigns, laboratory exams and access to medicines, (2) Sexual and reproductive healthcare including safe abortion, access to contraceptives, and prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted infections.

Child protection: Our response focuses on prevention of child abuse, family violence, and begging. Through our safe spaces we provide information sessions to develop the capacity of mothers, fathers, and caregivers to share practices for affectionate care and opportunities for early learning to families in transit.

Women’s protection and empowerment: Through the case management methodology we offer psychosocial support to female survivors of gender-based violence (sexual, physical, psychological) and through prevention we seek to empower women. We also have a safe house that provides refuge to women and their children at risk.

Economic recovery and development:The IRC provides multipurpose cash using various modalities to people and family groups in extreme vulnerability to fulfill basic needs and avoid negative coping strategies.

InfoPa’lante: It is a digital service platform (part of signPost) that provides key information to Venezuelan people on how to access vital services. Moderators and humanitarian specialists create dialogue with affected populations, remain responsive to users’ questions, and adapt content and service models throughout the full arc of a crisis – from onset to stabilization.

Our clients:

Priority groups are:

• People in transit, migrants that have expressed the desire to settle, refugee population and Colombian returnees.
• Colombian host communities.

Partners:

The IRC works with multiple partners:

• Fundación Proinco: a Catholic NGO that is well positioned in Pasto. With Proinco, we implement health, child protection and WPE programs.
• Pastoral Social: An NGO that is supported by the Episcopal Conference. With their collboration, we have implemented our child protection and WPE programming.
• Fundación Maria Fortaleza: A private social non-profit organization that provides healthcare to people living with HIV/AIDS. We work with FMF on health activities.
• Corporación Infancia y Desarrollo: A national NGO dedicated to filling gaps in education. With CID, IRC implements child protection activities.

Current needs of Venezuelan children and families:

• Despite Colombia’s government stating that every child, no matter his or her immigration status, has a right to access education, the reality is far from it.
• By the end of 2019, 39.9% of Venezuelan children did not have access to education. (DANE, 2020)
• Only 30% of children from 0 to 5 years old attend a Pre-K school. (DANE, 2020)
• The capacity of public primary, middle and high schools in many regions of the country, especially in rural areas is limited. 21,4% of parents of migrant children younger than 5 years old were not able to find a spot in a Pre-K school, and 5.6% did not have a school near their homes. (DANE, 2020)
• Extracurricular activities are not as available to Venezuelan children.
• There is a lack of flexible educational methods that meet the needs of Venezuelan children.
• Parents, mostly mothers, are concern with their children’s safety and opt to take care of them 24/7 leading to unemployment.
• Parents who work, often do not have anyone to take care of their children.
• Once settled, families struggle to find a flexible job that allows them to earn and income and take care of their children.
  

IRC’s response to strengthen education access:  In Colombia, most of Venezuelan families are choosing to stay in the country. Ensuring meaningful, creative and safe learning environments, which have been affected by the crisis, is key to drive integration and growth for Venezuelan children and their families. The IRC response in Education is developed for 2 target populations: children and families under an emergency situation (Families on the move) and children and families with the will to stay in Colombia by strengthening integration strategies developed by ECD centers, Public Schools and Community-based organizations.

IRC’s education program seeks to: Enhanced children holistic development and social cohesion, in migratory emergency context by:

• Supporting families on the move to allow children and their families to have a learning through play experience.
• Strengthen the capacity of community centers and education institutions to face emergencies and support Venezuelan children by play based approaches.
• Promote education access through technology such as audio classes and digital SEL content to students can access relevant experiences to improve their holistic development.
  

Lego Foundation Funded Programs

Jugar para Soñar (Play to Dream):

• 8141 children participated in play sessions
• 7799 caregivers participated in play sessions
• 807 children received the backpack
• 405 people trained in child protection, play-based learning and healing classrooms

Play to Dream’s impact included:

1. Supporting caregivers in transit to access existing specialized services for their families and via play-based activities, promotenurturing and responsive caregiving with their children along the route.
2. Providing technical assistance to teachers in both community based and institutional early learning centers.

Play Well:

Al Aire con Enrique Radio show reached approximately 3.6 million people with 20 educational episodes.

Play Well delivered continue learning to support children and their families struggling to access education during the pandemic. The program’s innovative approach delivered audio-based content —Al Aire con Enrique— to promote social and emotional learning skills while playing. “Al aire con Enrique” is an educational audio show that integrates songs, humor, games, social-emotional learning challenges, self-care messages and news. Throughout episodes, children are invited to participate and engage with the content by listening for specific information or reflecting on their own experiences with the topic.

The content is designed to be delivered via radio, phones and digital platforms such as WhatsApp so as to reach all listeners, including those with limited internet or connectivity.

Play movement (Juju) is the second phase of Play Well program:

JuJu is the name of the new project; this new intervention is developing a community play based approach for social cohesion for migrants’ families and host communities.

Actually, we are designing the new season of Al Aire con Enrique, opening play spaces for children and caregivers, and developing a training model for ECD and Elementary teachers based in SEL and social cohesion.