Tackling violence in Viento Libre
Tumaco, Colombia
Best practice - Child protection
The comprehensive strategy Fall in Love with the Viento Libre (free wind) Neighborhood aims to tackle violence in Viento Libre, one of the neighbourhoods most impacted by violence in the municipality of Tumaco. The strategy, focusing solely on the neighbourhood of Viento Libre, aims to bring all social services closer to the citizens in a joint effort between faith leaders, community actors, the police, school leadership, and most importantly, members of the community.
This is a novel way of addressing violence in the community, which has often relied on the use of force alone. This time, comprehensive solutions were formulated together with community members. Offers for sports and recreational activities were improved, number of social service staff on the ground was increased, and the community benefited from a new playground, a sports hall, a new educational centre and installation of a public Wi-Fi zone.
During the process, the local government was also able to identify improvement opportunities for the local economy, namely handicrafts and other artisanal businesses, and thus boost local economic activity. The project has led to a notable decrease in violence and forced recruitment in the neighbourhood, and it has increased educational attendance. Local citizens have been able to create more trusting relationships with government institutions.
