VZCZCXYZ0002
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBO #1746/01 1492159
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 292159Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 8972

UNCLAS BOGOTA 001746 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREF CO
SUBJECT: COLOMBIA: FY09 JULIA TAFT REFUGEE FUND NOMINATION 
-- PASTORAL SOCIAL 
 
REF: SECSTATE 14280 
 
¶1. (U) Post is pleased to nominate local Catholic charity 
Pastoral Social for a $20,000 USD grant from the Julia Taft 
Refugee Fund for a micro-credit/small grants program for a 
group of internally displaced persons (IDP) in Medellin, 
Colombia. 
 
Filling A Gap 
------------- 
¶2. (U) During a recent field visit with PRM DAS William 
Fitzgerald and PRM/ECA Office Director Eleanor Nagy, we 
identified a critical gap in resources in the Pastoral Social 
assistance program for IDP women in the Granizal community in 
Medellin, Colombia.  The Pastoral Social program provides 60 
IDP women (and a small number of vulnerable women from the 
host community) counseling and job training to work in 
bakeries, clothing production, and beauty salons.  The 
purpose of the program is to teach the women to become 
self-sufficient in satisfying their basic needs and to better 
integrate into the community.  Most of the participants were 
displaced from rural areas and need assistance in 
transitioning to living and working in an urban job market 
and environment. 
 
¶3. (U) The Pastoral Social program has been successful in 
providing the women life and job skills training; however, 
once the participants have completed the training there are 
few available funds for start-up costs associated with 
productive activities.  Post proposes that PRM award $20,000 
USD from the Julia Taft Refugee Fund to provide this group of 
IDP women capital for productive activities that will allow 
them to apply the skills they have learned in the program. 
 
¶4. (U) We propose that these funds be awarded to Pastoral 
Social, an established and well-respected Catholic charity 
that has experience providing job training to IDPs.  The 
participants in the program, individually or in groups, will 
develop proposals for productive activities based on their 
training and receive funding as a micro-credit or small grant 
from the Julia Taft funding.  The group as a whole will 
review and approve the different proposals, with Pastoral 
Social providing management and administrative oversight.  In 
addition to providing much needed capital, the proposal 
development and review process will further reinforce the 
self-sufficiency and job skills training the women have 
receive in the program. 
 
Pastoral Social 
--------------- 
¶5. (U) Pastoral Social was established in Colombia in 1977 
and is a part of Caritas International, a confederation of 
154 Catholic organizations present in 198 countries.  Its 
programs focus on fighting against poverty and oppression in 
order to create a more just society based on solidarity, 
social justice, peace, and respect for human rights.  Receipt 
of a copy of the organization's code of conduct is pending. 
 
¶6. (U) The UN High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) Medellin 
sub-office supports this proposal.  UNHCR works closely with 
Pastoral Social on IDP programs in Medellin.  Pastoral 
Social's programs are well-known to Post. 
 
Justification 
------------- 
¶7. (U) Post proposes to provide this group of IDP women 
$20,000 USD after meeting with them during a field visit to 
Granizal in April.  During this time, we visited a clothing 
production shop run by eight women from the group.  The women 
involved with the project explained that business was going 
well, but expanding the business was not possible due to the 
lack of funding.  Additionally, we heard from many others in 
the group that they would like to start a similar business 
like a bakery or beauty salon in the neighborhood if they had 
funding to buy equipment and supplies. 
 
¶8. (U) The Granizal community is a high-density, 
poverty-stricken area in Medellin with a large IDP 
population.  Violence and crime is high in this part of the 
city.  Working in the neighborhood with their own businesses 
provides the most accommodating environment for most of these 
women.  Many are single women headed households with young 
children, and working together in small businesses allows 
them the flexibility to care for their children and remain 
close to home. Additionally, traveling across the city for 
work can be difficult and expensive. 
 
¶9. (U) In the six months since RefCoord last visited this 
group of IDP women, they have made major strides in regaining 
confidence and control of their lives.  In the first visit in 
October of last year, the women timidly recounted harrowing 
stories of violent displacement from their homes and the 
death of their husbands or children.  Now, after completing 
 
the Pastoral Social program, they energetically and 
confidently talked about their hopes and dreams of having 
their own businesses and moving forward with a productive, 
positive new life.  The funding provided by the Julia Taft 
Refugee Fund will help these women to continue to progress on 
the road to recovery and self-sufficiency. 
 
¶10. (U) For further information, please contact Scott Higgins 
at HigginsSC@state.gov. 
Brownfield