In our mission at Naya and Mayorquin rivers in Buenaventura, during our second week in Colombia, we had the opportunity to visit several community mothers.
\nIn many places in Colombia one finds women working in the child-care programs that the government instituted in the late 1980s. These programs are known officially as \u201cCommunity Homes\u201d run by the Colombian Family Welfare Institute.
\nCommunity Homes are run by \u201cCommunity Mothers\u201d who take neighborhood children into their own homes. These programs were designed to take care of the most vulnerable segment of the population: children up to seven years of age living in the poorest urban or rural sectors.
\nThe Community Mothers have been struggling for labor rights in the face of the government\u2019s rigid neoliberal policies. The development of the community-organized day care centers came about as a response to the economic, social and political changes of the time. The rapid growth of industry in the cities and the massive in-migration of those escaping the violence and poverty in the countryside were two key factors. Women and children were the most affected, since a large portion of this population consisted of head-of-household and single women.
\nThis form of popular organizing was not recognized by the state until the 1980s. Prior to that, it was considered illegal and was repressed. But by 1988, after over a decade of mobilization, the government launched an official program in which these Community Mothers were enlisted, and women became government employees under a special category called \u201cvolunteer work.\u201d
\nAt the national level, there exists nearly 82,000 Community Mothers who work in their own homes. Each Community Mother takes care of an assigned number of children, cut from 14 to 12 in December 2000. In exchange for their work, Community Mothers receive a stipend that covers the cost of food for the children, kitchen utensils, educational materials and other necessities to run the program. It also includes mandatory training and a bonus for the Community Mother for each child attending, which adds up to less than half the minimum legal wage. But they do not receive any salary. The government institutions do not assume any further responsibilities for the Community Mothers. In this way the government transfers its social obligations to the communities at minimal cost.
\nThe struggle for Community Mothers\u2019 labor rights was born virtually with the creation of the programs in 1988. The Community Mothers are organized in three unions: SINTRACIHOBI, which was founded 1988 in Ciudad Bol\u00edvar; the Association of Community Mothers for a Better Colombia (AMCOLOMBIA), which began in 1991; and the local District Movement of Neighborhood Homes (SINTRADISTRITALES), started in 1994. While these organizations differ in their approach, they agree completely in their final objectives: job stability, a legal minimum wage, social security and benefits.
\nThe Community Mothers are now facing an even greater challenge since the crisis of internal refugees exploded once again in the mid 1990s. More and more displaced people are arriving and settling in neighborhoods that are still trying to obtain basic services.
\nThe state has failed to come up with a policy that meets the needs of the displaced population and that addresses the increased pressure in housing, education, health and basic services. The vast majority of displaced children end up in Community Homes and Neighborhood Houses.<\/p>\n
Written by Carmen Miguel<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In our mission at Naya and Mayorquin rivers in Buenaventura, during our second week in Colombia, we had the opportunity to visit several community mothers. In many places in Colombia one finds women working in the child-care programs that the government instituted in the late 1980s. These programs are known officially as \u201cCommunity Homes\u201d run […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1960,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[134],"class_list":["post-1941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colombia","tag-womens-rights"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n