Colombia

GOAL has been operating in Colombia since 2019. Colombia is facing its most severe humanitarian crisis in nearly a decade. Armed conflict, climate-related disasters, and mass displacement have converged, leaving millions lacking basic needs such as food, shelter, and medicine. Many now live in informal settlements in Colombia.

What we do in Colombia

Emergency Response

Sustainable Livelihoods

Gender-based Violence

Supporting communities facing conflict, migration and natural disasters

GOAL Colombia is helping communities respond to Tropical Storm Sara, which devastated northern Colombia in November 2024. Over 120,000 people have been affected by strong winds and severe flooding, leaving entire communities cut off from support. Thanks to the Ready to Act programme and support from the START Network, GOAL teams have delivered 438 hygiene kits, 450 food kits and 161 water purification filters to communities in La Guajira.

Changes in climate patterns resulting from human activities, such as deforestation and agricultural expansion, have left communities in La Mojana, an area already prone to flooding, even more vulnerable to extreme weather.

In Bolívar and Magdalena, Northern Colombia, conflict between various illegal and criminal organisations has displaced thousands of families. Children are unable to attend school, and farmers are being driven off their land. In response, GOALies have distributed 425 food kits, 385 hygiene kits and 200 first aid kits in hard-to-reach communities.

Supporting Blue and Green economies

Additionally, in 2024, GOAL continued to implement the Resilience of the Blue Economy Programme to support longer-term solutions to the convergence of multiple problems. Armed conflict, climate-related disasters, and mass displacement collided, leaving millions of people in need of assistance, most acutely in rural and border regions. GOAL’s programming is implementing sustainable energy solutions in artisan fishing communities that rely massively on the ocean for their livelihoods.

Led by GOAL Colombia, in partnership with COLGAS and Fundación Capital, along with generous funding from Irish Aid and Kingspan, the Energy Transition in Small and Medium-Scale Fisheries project is introducing propane-fueled motors to artisan fishing communities in La Guajira. The initiative aims to reduce CO2 emissions and operational costs, enhancing both economic viability and environmental sustainability. This is just the beginning of a project that can be scaled up and has the potential to deliver significant benefits and impact across the region. Creating local communities that can persevere through and adapt to environmental and economic shocks is key to building sustainable livelihoods.

GOAL continues to implement gender-based violence (GBV) protection into our programming. During humanitarian disasters, displacement and the breakdown of social structures can lead to increased instances of GBV. GOAL teams conducted community workshops on GBV and held awareness sessions with community leaders, families, children, and girls to enhance protective measures.

As part of Ireland’s Civil Society Partnership (ICSP) “For a Better World” programme, funded by Irish Aid, GOAL is empowering women in Colombia by engaging both men and women. This initiative has created vital community spaces where workshops specifically tailored for each community are held on human rights, gender-based violence (GBV), the care economy, and women’s empowerment. In collaboration with HealthNet TPO, GOAL launched the “We Are Voice” campaign to raise awareness of GBV and promote its eradication through audiovisual content and workshops. The campaign has reached more than 15,000 users on Instagram and has had significant participation on Facebook and X (Twitter). GOAL Colombia is continuing to raise visibility and awareness of gender-based violence through this initiative.

Working with local communities

The operationalisation of GOAL's Crisis to Resilience framework in Colombia focuses on the needs and root causes of major regional humanitarian crises in food security, health, rapid urban expansion, migration and other sudden onset emergencies due to seismic and extreme weather events. By supporting sustainable livelihoods, GOAL’s programming works in partnership with local communities to empower and rebuild their lives with dignity, resilience, and purpose.

In 2024, GOAL’s emergency preparedness programming helped over 100,000 people in Colombia become more resilient to future crises.

In La Guajira, Colombia, with support from the Government of Ireland through Irish Aid, GOAL is supporting local communities in rebuilding social cohesion and livelihoods through initiatives like the Irish Aid Civil Society Partnership (ICSP). The five-year programme has strengthened the economic systems of the longstanding artisanal fishing tradition in La Guajira.

Since 2023, hundreds of fishers have participated in the GOAL-implemented ICSP programme, promoting sustainable livelihoods and food security for their families and communities. In a region marked by armed conflict, the fishers act as a role model for younger generations by teaching them valuable fishing skills and keeping them away from violent groups. Through the ICSP programme, thousands of fishers and their families have a reliable source of food, the first step to rebuilding after the violence with dignity, resilience, and purpose. ICSP is helping transform local economies into foundations for long-term stability, offering a powerful example of how livelihoods can serve as pathways to peace and the important role local communities play in creating those pathways.

In 2024, GOAL's team in Colombia worked with local communities to strengthen the livelihoods of over 130,000 people.