Colombia

Educational resources for street-involved youth

The internal conflict in Colombia has displaced more than three million people, including many youth who lose access to education, health care and a family network. Through this project, Canadian and Colombian researchers worked with streetaffected youth in Medellín to identify their health concerns, and then create, distribute and evaluate a pamphlet as an educational resource. In addition to promoting awareness, the project was conceived as a way to empower youth. “Because these youth collaborated on every aspect of the pamphlet, it was physical proof that their voices and perspective matter,” said Chelsea Jalloh.

Focus groups identified four key topics for the pamphlet. Researchers provided factual material related to HIV/AIDS, Sacol (a solvent sniffed by many youth) and piercings, while the youth themselves identified positive and negative aspects about life on the street. A Colombian artist developed the artwork for the pamphlet, which was called “Open Your Eyes.” The project distributed 700 copies to street-involved youth in Medellín and engaged youth in evaluating the resource.

Apart from the benefits to youth, the project enabled researchers, professionals and students to learn from each other and gain insight into services in other countries. Ms. Jalloh established contacts that could enable her to pursue a collaborative PhD between the two universities, while the Colombian outreach workers learned skills in planning and holding focus groups and interviews that could benefit future collaborations. Indeed, partly thanks to the project, formal agreements between the two partners and between the University of Manitoba and the municipal government of Medellín, bode well for new ventures.