Two million people have been displaced by unrest in rural areas of Colombia and are living in poverty-ridden communes across the country. Families have been torn apart by the violence, and many women have been widowed, left to raise their children alone. Socially isolated and in exile, these women struggle to provide even the basic necessities for their family. Of those displaced in Colombia, 80% are children who have experienced severe trauma; many of these children will never go to school.

The Coopération Internationale pour les Equilibres Locaux (CIELO), an organization working in disadvantaged communities across Latin America, is providing services to help this affected population in Colombia. By establishing ‘toy libraries’, CIELO is working to create safe places where children and their mothers can be together, and where children can learn in a positive environment so that they can eventually go to school. This innovative project also hopes to empower displaced mothers to become educators and toy librarians, as well as help break the economic and social barriers that have denied children their right to an education.

Active in Latin America since 1995, CIELO has focused on early childhood development projects that emphasize ‘play’ activities as tools for non-formal learning and development. CIELO has been developing toy libraries since 1996.