This project will help: 638 children and youth
Estimated completion date: August 2025
Country: Colombia
Executive summary
At the CO0981 and CO0985 Compassion centres in Chocó and the CO0703 in Urabá, Colombia, centre staff serve a total of 638 registered children and youth. Most of these children live in poverty and experience high levels of food insecurity at home. Staff at these three centres want to support the students they serve by providing them with nutritious meals during the week—but inadequate kitchen facilities make it difficult to prepare and serve safe meals.
All three centres currently do not have a designated kitchen. Instead, staff are forced to utilize existing rooms that are not properly equipped with the tools, materials and equipment needed to safely prepare food. There are no dishwashers or separate sinks designated for washing fruits or vegetables. They also lack food storage and space to store utensils. The cramped makeshift kitchens lack adequate ventilation; rooms can reach up to 32 degrees Celsius on hot days, making it difficult for staff to comfortably prepare meals and snacks.
Improper food preparation and storage can lead to foodborne and hygiene-related illnesses. A survey conducted at the CO0981 and CO0985 centres found that 9.4 per cent of participants had anemia, 16.1 per cent experienced diarrhea and 7.4 per cent suffered from parasitic infections. In addition, approximately 10 per cent of participants experienced malnutrition and were moderately or severely underweight.
Sadly, most children served by our church partners in Chocó and Urabá have limited access to nutritious meals at home. In recent years, 37.9 per cent of caregivers have lost their jobs and 24 per cent are self-employed, earning little as day labourers. Our church partners know the importance of regular, nutritious meals for growing children and want to help—but with limited resources, they need additional support.
This intervention will see the construction of new kitchens and dining rooms at the CO0981, CO0985 and CO0703 Compassion centres in Colombia. The new facilities will be built to code and will allow program staff to safely prepare meals for registered students. Children and their families will also attend educational workshops that focus on topics such as healthy lifestyles, adequate nutrition and life skills.
Summary
Background
The CO0981 and CO0985 Compassion centres are located in the municipality of Choco in northern Colombia, where many families have experienced displacement and unemployment. Sadly, Choco has a very high rate of malnutrition—in 2022 alone, 25 children under the age of five died from malnutrition-related causes. To address high levels of food insecurity, centre staff have provided 120 registered children experiencing malnutrition with emergency food packs over the last two months
The CO0703 Compassion centre is in the Urabá subregion, a highly vulnerable area marked by high levels of poverty and low quality of life. In both Choco and Urabá regions, the COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted food security, disproportionately affecting those already struggling to access nutritious meals. Before the pandemic, 92 per cent of families ate three meals per day. Now, only 75 per cent of Colombian families have access to regular meals. Most families living in poverty can only afford two meals per day, and on average, only one meal contains a source of protein.
The need
In the Choco and Urabá regions of Colombia, 638 children and youth are experiencing food insecurity. Caregivers struggle to provide their children with regular, nutritious meals. Without adequate access to nourishing food, children are at risk of developing malnutrition and its many related consequences such as stunting, weakened immune systems, poor academic performance and delayed development. Currently, three Compassions in these regions are offering meals to children on program days. However, they lack kitchen and dining space, including proper facilities for food storage and preparation. Sadly, many children are getting sick from foodborne illnesses, adding further barriers to treating high rates of malnutrition.
Your generous gift will allow our frontline church partners at the CO0981, CO0985 and CO0703 Compassion centres to build modern kitchen facilities, including the equipment, tools and materials needed to safely prepare nourishing snacks and meals for children on program days. The churches will work with a master builder, a civil engineer, an architect and a health advisor to ensure the facilities are built to sanitation standards. Once the kitchens are complete, kitchen staff will be trained on proper food handling guidelines and protocols. Church staff plan to offer nutritious lunches to children three times per week, relieving some of the burden from caregivers and ensuring children have improved food security in their daily lives.
To provide caregivers and participants with pivotal education on leadership, nutrition and life skills, centre staff will also host workshops for children and their families. Staff will teach lessons on topics such as food safety and preparation, personal hygiene, developing a healthy lifestyle and the importance of nutrition. With your support, children, youth and caregivers will gain the knowledge and resources they need to make lasting changes in their lives.
What your gift will do
Your gift will build new kitchen and dining facilities at three Compassion centres in Colombia and provide children and caregivers with educational workshops, including:
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Construction of new kitchens and dining areas at CO0981, CO985 and CO0703
- Masonry, roofing and flooring
- Electrical connection
- Hydraulic and sanitary installation
- Paint and finishes
- Stainless steel kitchen fixtures
- Labour
- Training workshops for children and caregivers on hygiene, sanitation and healthy living
Logistics
- Local contribution: US$5,086.99
- Handling of funds: Compassion International Colombia and church leaders will ensure this project stays within budget.
- Monitoring and follow-up: The churches have designated community members to oversee post-construction maintenance, ensure the adequacy of the centre kitchens and ensure safe waste disposal. The churches’ maintenance committees will receive training so they can repair any infrastructure-related issues that may arise. These measures will ensure the sustainability of this intervention. Centre staff look forward to seeing improved health of the children and their use of good hygiene habits.