Talking About Colombia

The La Niña rains of the last few months have left 556,761 children affected: their schools were either flooded or are located in a high-risk zone. Close to 1,800 public schools must be relocated and entirely reconstructed or fixed up. The government estimates it will cost $100 million pesos.

Some of these schools are occupied by families whose homes were damaged or washed away, and they must be relocated to shelters.

In most towns where the sewage system has collapsed completely, the water quality is unfit for drinking, the food is scarce, the crops are devastated, and the seeds are ruined, it is difficult to know how many parents and children will make education a priority.