Colombia Facts

Hola!  That’s how you say “hello” in Spanish, Colombia’s official language. This country in South America is known for its beautiful beaches, dense rainforests and towering mountain ranges. Learn more Colombia facts here. 

View of cityscape against mountain range

5 Facts About Colombia

Here are five fun facts about Colombia:

Map of South America with Colombia highlighted in blue

Where is Colombia?

Colombia is a country located in northwestern South America. It borders the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea and lies next to other countries Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru.

Key Challenges in Colombia & Our Response

While Colombia is a beautiful country with so much to explore, it’s also home to many children living in poverty. These children and their families face unique challenges that Compassion is helping them overcome. 

Food Insecurity 

Around 13 million people in Colombia are moderately or severely food insecure. This means they don’t know where their next meal may come from. Unfortunately, food insecurity leads to malnutrition, which threatens children’s lives and prevents them from growing as God intended. 


Our Response: Malnutrition Monitoring & Intervention 

Through the Compassion program, we monitor each child we serve for signs of malnutrition and provide the medical and nutritional care they need to get healthy again. For example, we might provide food baskets, nourishing meals or therapeutic feeding. 

When children are hungry, they can’t focus in school, are at risk of chronic health issues and may even lose their lives. Compassion is working to prevent these consequences by providing nutrition support to children facing desperate poverty in Colombia. 

Child Exploitation 

Children living in poverty throughout South America are especially vulnerable to violence and exploitation. This violence can take many forms, from forced child labor to child trafficking and gang violence. 
 

Our Response: Protecting Children From Harm 

At Compassion, child protection is our top priority. Each child in our program receives age-appropriate training so they can learn how to stand up for themselves and others. We also train our staff and volunteers, ensuring that they know how to intervene when they see signs of abuse or violence. 

Our Impact in Colombia

Compassion has supported children throughout Colombia for many years. And during that time, we’ve seen many lives changed through our child sponsorship program. 

94,155

children served (and counting)

317

churches serving

49

years of serving
A group of children sit at a table while writing and smiling.

Explore a Colombian Compassion Center

From eating delicious meals to learning and playing with friends, every day is full of fun at our Compassion centers. Come along with us as we explore a day in the life of a Compassion center through the eyes of the children that attend. 

A young boy smiles while holding a soccer ball.

Children Are Ready to Learn Through the Compassion Program

These five students, including Elias from Colombia, love attending school through their local Compassion center. See what education programs look like and how they impact the lives of children. 

Fight Child Poverty: Give Right-Now Care & Eternal Hope

Nutritious food. Medical care. Protection from harm. Hope. These are just some of the critical, right-now needs of children living in poverty. Help us fight child poverty by meeting these needs and sharing the lasting hope of the gospel. 

Sponsor a Child

By sponsoring a child, you empower a local church to share the gospel by meeting the needs of a child’s body, mind and spirit. Through sponsorship, you’ll help deliver medical care, hygiene training, education, malnutrition monitoring and so much more to a child in need. 

Pray

Jeremiah 33:3 says that if we call on God, he will answer us. When we lift up children living in poverty, God hears us, and we can trust he’s working on their behalf. Join us in praying daily for children living in poverty by becoming a prayer partner.

Donate

Children living in poverty face many challenges, from a lack of medical care to dangerous living conditions. You can provide immediate support by donating to fulfill a right-now need.