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Patricia Henao Saavedra
country director
phenao@pactworld.org
Since 2013, Pact has worked in Colombia to help the country overcome the effects of decades of armed conflict. Pact focuses on rural and vulnerable communities, building the capacity of Colombian citizens, especially groups that historically have been excluded, to raise their voices and gain the skills and resources needed to thrive and be prosperous.
With funding from the U.S. Department of Labor and USAID, and in partnership with local organizations, Pact leads several projects in Colombia that are reducing child labor in mining, building the capacity of civil society to combat child labor and improve working conditions, strengthening the capacity of indigenous peoples’ organizations in the Amazon to effectively advocate for the rights of indigenous people, and reducing the risk of child labor, forced labor and other rights violations among vulnerable women and girls in agriculture.
The Pilares project is increasing the capacity of civil society to understand and address child labor and promote better working conditions in artisanal and small-scale gold mining.
Pact is also supporting indigenous people's organizations to increase their influence in the governance of the Amazon region, with the goal of protecting indigenous people's rights and the environment in the Amazon rainforest of Colombia, Peru, Brazil, Ecuador, Suriname and Guyana.
Our Vamos Tejiendo project is improving the economic participation of vulnerable women and adolescent girls in quality jobs within the agricultural sector, specifically the cut flower and unrefined sugar industries. Vamos Tejiendo engages government, the private sector and civil society organizations to improve labor practices and increase economic opportunities for vulnerable women and girls.
Pact’s newest project supports Colombia’s efforts to prevent and respond to human rights violations, particularly among Venezuelan migrants, Colombian returnees and receptor communities, increasing community cohesion and citizen security.
Our Somos Tesoro project, or "We are Treasure," recently closed after seven years. The project was Colombia's leading initiative to reduce child labor in artisanal and small-scale mining communities. In addition to addressing health and safety issues in mining, Somos Tesoro helped communities to overcome the many factors that lead to child labor, including economic instability, challenges in implementing public policies favoring child protection, and a lack of quality education in rural mining areas.