The colombian islands of San Andrés, Providencia, and Santa Catalina were hit by two hurricanes (Eta and Iota) in November 2020, causing extensive damage to infrastructure and affecting more than 6,000 people. The population has suffered from mental health issues such as post-traumatic stress, depression, and anxiety due to these events.

Since December 2020, 22 civil society organizations from Colombia, including Antioquia Presente, an NGO based in Medellin, created the alliance named “Back Better Together”. It aims to achieve the reconstruction of the islands with the help of the community through five lines of action. These include humanitarian aid, psychosocial support, and rebuilding community infrastructure and productive projects. The alliance collaborates with the Colombian national government and the National Tourism Fund to support the needs and functioning supplies of approximately 52 Posadas Nativas (native lodges roughly translated into English). Currently, several ongoing programs intend to reconstruct the islands and their infrastructure and get the community back on track.

COPE met Antioquia Presente’s team in November 2022 and joined their efforts to bring Disaster Risk Reduction Education through COPE’s content to the islands of Providencia and Santa Catalina.

Antioquia Presente held training and awareness workshops past March with teachers and local government to discuss topics related to hurricanes and Disaster Risk Management issues. This way, teachers will transfer their knowledge to the island’s children and become better prepared for future hurricanes. 1,000 copies of our “Hurricanes” book in Spanish were delivered to educational institutions, libraries, environmental groups and the National Police in the islands.