Alexander Uribe Díaz and Jhon Freddy Herrera
Getting a good education is one of the most important determinants of a child's future. Yet 1,000's miss out on school in Colombia. There are no reliable figures on numbers affected but what Save the Children does know is that certain groups are most at risk - e.g. those who are disabled, forced to leave home because of conflict, poor, and those that need to work.
Education systems also break down during conflict and violence, increasing the demand for education from schools already deficient in resources, teacher training, and infrastructure. Yet schools can give children the skills and knowledge they need to survive conflict and as they become adults, help to reduce the chances of it happening again.
"I am happy to study and live here. I really prefer the coffee farm because in the town where we used to live, life was very hard and I couldn't go to school". Alexander
Alexander's school 'Camilo Torres' is in Armenia, a rural setting in Southern Colombia and needs investment to renovate the old buildings, provide teaching resources, and training for teachers to improve the standard of teaching and curricular.
Alexander (aged 13 years) lives with his brothers and parents. His family are internally displaced because of growing conflict and violence at home. Until recently they lived on poverty wages, and they didn't have enough food, or access to basic services, like health centres or education, so they were forced to leave their home to find work. Alexander's father now manages a coffee farm and earns more, enabling Alexander and his two brothers to go to school.
"I love drawing and Spanish classes, although what I would really want is to become a policeman when I grow up. I need to finish all my courses at school in order to be accepted at the police institution" Jhon
Jhon (aged 13) goes to the same school as Alexander. Jhon missed out on school for a year, and is consequently a year behind which means he has failed his course work. His mother tried to convince him of the importance of education, and told him to choose between working on the coffee farm, or returning to school. He chose to work with his father, but found it very hard, so has now returned to school.