Photo Credit: Refugees International
02/15/2007

International organizations are stepping in to provide housing to many displaced communities when the Colombian government does not. This is an example of an innovative project run by a Swiss organization in Sincelejo, Sucre. Families that participate in the program are given extensive training in house construction. After the training, the organization provides all the necessary building materials and maintains an engineer on site to assist families that then construct their homes themselves. Since the participants are not working while they construct, the agency provides them with lunch on site. Particularly vulnerable households have received financial help to pay a professional bricklayer to lead the construction of the house. Families that were involved in this type of project were very happy with the results, and often continued to make improvements to their houses after the project officially ended.