In Buenaventura, much of life happens outdoors. With nowhere better to go, young people spend time on the streets. They play football, chat, pass the time. But behind that everyday scene lies a harsh reality. In the neighbourhoods of this Colombian port city, danger is always in the air. Armed groups are visibly present and violence is never far away. Fifteen-year-old Jesús Felipe Rentería knows this all too well. Recently, while he was outside with his friends, shots suddenly rang out. “I didn’t know where to go,” he says. “I looked for somewhere safe, but there wasn’t anywhere.” Thankfully, no one was killed that time. But it shows how little room young people have to move freely. Young people like Jesús do not always want to be on the streets. They simply have nowhere else to go.
For many Afro-Colombian and other young people in Buenaventura, it is hard to imagine a future beyond the reality that surrounds them. Poverty, exclusion and insecurity weigh heavily on daily life. Armed groups exploit that vulnerability. Young people are at risk of being recruited, exploited or becoming victims of human trafficking. According to Daniela from our partner organisation Cormepaz, what young people lack is not strength or talent, but the conditions they need to develop freely and safely. “Young people and women are hit hard by the lack of opportunities, infrastructure and spaces where they can develop.”
What is missing is not just money or safety, but something more fundamental: places where young people are seen, where they can speak out, and where they can learn that more is possible than what they see around them. That is precisely why Cormepaz works to create these spaces, day after day.
On the streets, but with nowhere to go
Johan Stiven Valencia is fourteen and grew up without a father. Like Jesús, he spent a lot of time on the streets after school. “But I never feel safe there,” he says. María Murillo, 15, also describes a childhood in which ordinary moments and violence existed side by side. She was bullied at school and saw a great deal of violence on the streets, which made her increasingly insecure. “I felt very shy and often didn’t dare to say anything,” she recalls.
Their stories are different, but they all point in the same direction: young people here grow up in a reality that narrows their space, both literally and internally. And that is exactly what makes them more vulnerable to the pressure, temptation and promises of armed groups that recruit and exploit young people.
A place of new possibilities
For all three of them, things began to change when people around them brought them into contact with Cormepaz. With support from Mensen met een Missie, this local organisation offers young people in Buenaventura a safe space, psychosocial support and activities through which they can learn, create and speak. “The psychosocial element is fundamental,” Daniela explains. “Most young people are direct or indirect victims of conflict.” That is why the focus is not only on what young people do, but also on how they are doing, what they feel and what they need in order to stand more firmly in life.
Alongside this support, young people also get the chance to learn new things. This happens partly through the Ubuntu School, where they work with radio, theatre, music and other forms of communication. In this way, they process what they experience at home and on the streets, learn how to convey a message, and discover how to create and share different stories about themselves and their community. This is essential, because young people from marginalised communities are too often seen as a risk, a problem or a target group. Here, they are given the chance to speak for themselves. Daniela sees how this helps the participants: they become more open, take more initiative and feel more connected to their surroundings.
For young people who have grown used to mistrust and tension, that is no small shift. By developing skills, seeing different examples and discovering that alternatives exist, they grow more resilient to the forces that could otherwise so easily pull them in another direction.
Being heard
María, for example, learned how to conduct interviews and received information about human trafficking: what it is, how young people can become trapped in it, and why it is important not to stay silent when violence takes place. “I’ve learned to stand up for myself and now I dare to speak out about things that are not okay, such as violence.” In an environment where exploitation thrives on shame and insecurity, that is deeply significant.
Jesús also saw his self-confidence grow. He took part in dialogues, storytelling workshops and even a live radio broadcast. “Now I can stand in front of a group and give my opinion,” he says proudly. By learning to speak up, he also learned to take a position, helping him stand more firmly against pressure from outside.
And where Johan once barely dared to make plans for the future, he now dreams of starting his own shoe business. Cormepaz’s activities have changed his daily life and the way he looks at the future. For these young people, being able to imagine a better future is a profound shift.
The chance of a better future
The problems in Buenaventura are deeply rooted and will not disappear overnight. But for these young people, something has shifted. Jesús wants to encourage other young people “not to follow the path of violence.” Johan is making plans for his own business, and María wants to keep using her voice to help her peers.
Their stories show that change does not begin with grand words, but with very concrete things: a place to go after school, someone who listens, activities that help you organise your thoughts, knowledge that protects you, and the experience that your voice matters.