Finding. Funding.Promoting.
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PEACEBUILDERS: The Escuela COUNTRY: Colombia RUNNING COSTS: £10,000 p.a.
“Want to know what a gram of cocaine really costs? Rape, torture, kidnapping and violence. So not much of a future for many girls in Colombia but the Women’s Escuela in Cali is changing that future – for good.”
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The Escuela’s Story
The Escuela was established by Martha, Julieth and other women from the Colectivo de Mujeres Pazificas , a womens’ peace network. They wanted to create an Escuela -a school – that would empower and educate hundreds of women from Cali and the surrounding villages in non-violent resistance and for a small organisation, the Women’s Escuela in Cali has already had incredible impact.
One of the most violent countries in the world , the 2007 Global Peace Index ranked Colombia 116th out of 121 countries. It has been ravaged by long and violent conflict involving outlawed armed groups, drug cartels and gross violations of human rights. The war on drugs has been largely ineffective.
How the Escuela works
The Women’s Escuela encourages women from all backgrounds and all walks of life to come together to learn, share and spread the message of non-violence throughout their own communities. The school also encourages and empowers women to participate in civil society.
Key Achievements
- May 2007 36 women – all from very deprived backgrounds – graduated from the Escuela’s outreach programme in the village of Santander. Three women from the course stood for election to local councils, one as mayor.
- In Buenaventura, a city experiencing fierce conflict between three armed groups,the team provided support to the community after three young women were tortured.
We say
“The Escuela is changing perceptions, inequalities and lives. Through education, women are supported, encouraged and empowered to believe in – and create – a better future and an alternative to violence and fear.”
How you can help
It costs just £106 a year to train one woman in conflict resolution and womens’ rights. Your donation will help pay for this.
May 2007 Graduation
Without your help these 36 women would never have been able to graduate. Thank you so much for your continued support. I hope you know that you really are making a difference to these women’s lives and the city they live in.
Love,
Julieth”
Mar 2007 Women’s Skin
Back home and the new course has begun at the Escuela with 47 participants. They are a nice group; mixed and harmonious with a wide age range. News about our work is spreading. Last Thursday the first of the TV series “What are going to talk about, women?” was broadcasted. It is produced by Adaljisa (one of the group).We were also invited onto two other television programmes to speak about the Escuela. Many women called us after seeing the show to enrol for next year.
Students prepared 500 placards for International Women’s Day on March 8th. They placed them in prominent points around the city and on the walls of school and universities with the following slogan.
“Roses shouldn’t be the only present you give women. Respect their life and rights too.”
We also marked the day with the recreation of an ancient water ritual involving 800 women. Using music and flowers we weaved a big net around all those who participated. It was an amazing sight.
Love,
Julieth”
Nov 2006 Outreach Programme
I am delighted to give you an update on the first two classes. It has been a very different, but positive experience. 46 women enrolled: some black, some indigenous, and some mestizas (racially mixed). They have a very low level of scholarship but great leadership potential. There are two town councilors in the group, and many others have participated in community groups for many years.
The women we are working with are happy because they know they are breaching a wall that will enable them to reach other women. Most of them have to travel for hours to get to the School and many have very few resources.
The women have told us that the priorities for the course should be self-esteem, identity and empowerment. We are working hard to make that happen, and I will be in touch with more news soon,
Love,
Julieth
Colectivo de Mujeres Pazificas”
Oct 2006 The Files of Silence
The transition of women bearing arms back into civilian life is built on silence. The war is seen as an exclusively masculine arena, meaning that the role/history of women has been counted neither in figures nor words. Female ex-combatants have been forgotten and so researcher Luz Maria London, from the University of Antioquia, is writing their voices into the history of the country.
There were approximately 40 women at the meeting in the departmental library. We watched a documentary made by the research group and we were all overwhelmed by a deadening silence as we watched unedited images on the screen and heard voices that had never before been heard discovering themselves. Hundreds of questions emerged from this reality.
For the women’s movement the research project and video shown by Luz Maria Londoño posed several challenges:
- What should be done with women fighters, with those who have been demobilized from the paramilitary groups?
- How should we ask reparation from them?
- How do we respond to their needs?
- From which perspective can involve them as subjects of peace?
- What lessons have been learned?
- How can we avoid making the same mistakes as were made during the demobilization processes in Central America?
In sum, there are so many questions for those of us at the School. Thank you once again for supporting our work. I will be in touch with more news soon.
Julieth
Colectivo de Mujeres Pazificas”
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Several groups were dispatched to mark designated areas known to be dangerous for women with yellow tape. Thsi film shows one group at a bridge crossing a highwaylinking a health clinic to the bus terminal. During the day, the bridge is busy, but as soon as it gets dark, women prefer to run across the highway rather than walk alone on the bridge, where they risk being mugged.
After raising awareness by speaking with passersby, the groups rejoined in a park called San Antonio to view banners and alternative maps of the city; listen to speeches, poems and songs; watch traditional dances and celebrate local culture that “deserves to be enjoyed without fear”.
