Location

Location of the Department of the Alta Guajira in Colombia
Location of the Mujer y Hogar Foundation establishment

Presentation

  • The indigenous Wayúu population (Uriana ethnic group), benefited by the Mujer y Hogar Foundation, is made up of 28 families and a total of 251 indigenous people from the peninsula of La Guajira. This territory is hot and dry, and rainfall is very scarce.
  • The community speaks the Wayúunaiki language and some members speak spanish. This society is organized in at least 30 clans called e’iruku, among which we find the Uriana clan.
  • They have legal autonomy recognized by the Colombian constitution. Therefore, they apply their own law.
  • The community survives mainly on fishing activities, raising goats and the production of typical Wayúu handicrafts, such as backpacks.

Housing conditions

The Wayúu community (Uriana), benefited by the Mujer y Hogar Foundation, live under conditions that can put their health at risk. Their houses are made out of yotojoro (heart of the cactus) and they do not have electricity nor water.

  • A one-room house can accommodate a whole family (up to 10 people).
  • Inside the house, hammocks are used. The houses have uncoated floor, people walk and coexist on the bare ground.
  • The houses have a wood-burning stove on the floor and no opening in the roof for the smoke to escape.
  • My support for one of the families will allow our Foundation to improve the living conditions of the entire community:
  • With your help, the Wayúu community will have access to decent housing with healthy environments. We plan to build a house for each family.
  • With your support, we will also be able to continue with Healthy Housing workshops.
Here, an example of a house designed for each family. The design is made in conjunction with the indigenous community and the engineers of the UDES (University of Santander).

Example of one of the 2 houses built with the community in December 2022 for one of our vulnerable families.

Feeding conditions

The Department of La Guajira is economically speaking one of the poorest in Colombia. The inhabitants of this area live on a day-to-day basis trying to meet basic needs, without thinking about what will happen the next day. The family income is based on fishing, raising goats and the sale of handicrafts. That income is not enough to cover basic needs such as food and health. Most families eat only one meal a day; we saw cases of children eating sand due to hunger. This entails consequences of malnutrition and undernourishment, factors that decrease the life expectancy of children and adults.

  • My support for one of the families will allow our Foundation to improve the living conditions of the entire community.
  • Your donations will help improve food security and self-sustainability.
  • Food security consists of allowing children to access three daily nutritional rations in the Foundation’s Community Home, where they also learn about personal hygiene habits.
  • Food self-sustainability is achieved with the increase of their income, through our different sustainable development projects.

Water access conditions

The Department of the Alta Guajira has very limited access to drinking water. There are no rivers. To meet their needs, the community goes to some lakes called “Jagüeyes”, a source of water for goats. The water in these lakes is not suitable for human consumption. Wells are also dug nearby with the same quality of water. In the area there is also a significant amount of waste that contaminates the water and the environment.

There is a great amount of waste in the area
  • My support for one of the families will allow our Foundation to improve the living conditions of the entire community.
  • Your donations will strengthen the actions of our Foundation. Among them the following:
  • Allow daily access to water consumption through the delivery of drinking water produced by the desalination plant that works on solar energy. Drinking potable water is essential! It is vital! We have the ambition to expand the entire system to maximize the coverage of beneficiaries.
  • Raise awareness of the importance of protecting their environment: in order to have access to the delivery of water, families have to bring waste destined for recycling.
  • Raise awareness towards the improvement of hygiene conditions: in order to have access to the delivery of water, families have to watch a video where they learn about healthy habits.

Health conditions

Health care access for this community is extremely difficult. Seeing a doctor requires using personal transportation and getting to the nearest health center, located in Cabo de la Vela, which is approximately 30 minutes from Ranchería la Playa. Given these conditions, health care is hard to reach for most of them, which causes a high mortality risk.

  • Currently, in this community, there are children with disabilities, some of whom have difficulty walking. They need a medical consultation and examination to assess the possibility of adapting a treatment.
  • Elderly people also suffer from arid climate conditions.
  • My support for one of the families will allow our Foundation to improve the living conditions of the entire community:
  • Access to health care: we plan the construction of a medical center combining traditional and conventional medicine and active participation in therapies for disabled children.

Educational conditions

In this area, access to education is very difficult due to two factors: distance and the quality of education. To get to a school, most children need to go along a significant distance on foot, this under the heat and exposed to dangers of the area in terms of safety. For this reason, many children cannot attend classes. Despite some initiatives by the local population, study conditions in primary and secondary schools are very rudimentary, which translates into an unequal quality of education compared to other departments in the country. Faced with this situation, many children work to support their families economically through fishing and the production of handicrafts. The region is also characterized by a lack of connectivity in telephone services and internet access.

There is a great distance between each Ranchería (houses)
  • My support for one of the families will allow our Foundation to improve the living conditions of the entire community.
  • Your donations will help finance activities for children and adults. Our work focuses on actions such as:
  • For children:
  • Allow daily access to education in our Community Home through ethno-initial education classes.
  • Allow transportation to the Community Home: we have a project to purchase a 4×4 vehicle to pick up children from their homes. Currently it takes an hour to go on a motorcycle taking the children by twos, which limitates the time spent studying.
  • Creation of a school (preschool, primary and secondary education) with quality teaching. This activity is in project phase.
  • For adults:
  • Allow access to education in our Community Home through a School for adults with literacy classes in Wayuunaiki and Spanish.
  • For everyone:
  • Allow access to connectivity for a quality education. The goal is to allow access to Wi-Fi. This activity is in project phase.

Working conditions

The survival of the Wayúu community (Uriana), benefited by the Foundation, is mainly based on 3 activities: grazing, fishing and the production of handicrafts. The level of education does not allow access to other job opportunities. It is common to see children who financially support their parents in these activities, in detriment of their education.

  • My support for one of the families will allow our Foundation to improve the living conditions of the entire community.
  • Your donations will benefit actions such as:
  • Achieve the Foundation’s workers self-sufficiency through our Business Units. These units enable the beneficiaries to generate their own income and, in this way, to finance our Sustainable Development projects.
  • The Business Units are:
  • Bakery
  • Sale of backpacks produced by adults in the Foundation’s stores in Bucaramanga, Cúcuta and Valledupar; and later in other national stores (in project phase).
  • Sale of ice for fishermen (purchase of a professional refrigerator, in project phase).
  • Additionally, we continue working on other related projects to come.
  • Provide more job opportunities through quality education.