The Fundación ProAves and Women for Conservation have been supporting women who live in rural areas of Colombia so that they can access basic health care services, contraceptive methods, and sex education, helping to improve their quality of life, those of their families and have more opportunities.
In Colombia, deforestation, destructive agricultural practices, poaching and unsustainable development endanger the country’s great biodiversity on a daily basis. For this reason, ProAves and Women for Conservation have been working with the communities towards environmental awareness in the buffer zones of ProAves Reserves, so that they understand the link between the increase in population and the pressure on natural resources, especially on the habitats of threatened species.
In EL DORADO ProAves RESERVE WE WORK HAND WITH THE LEADING WOMEN
With the support of our allied organization Profamilia, different activities have been developed to promote the empowerment of women who live near the ProAves El Dorado Reserve, located in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, so that they know their reproductive rights, and can take decisions with freedom, confidence and security. Since the accompaniment was reactivated in 2019 to date, 83 women have participated in sexual reproduction oriented practices and on May 27, the fifth family planning campaign was carried out with the participation of 18 women from the region.
Through events, educational workshops and access to family planning programs, women have been able to live in harmony with the environment, use natural resources sustainably and have the freedom to choose how to live.
Providing access to health care and sex education has empowered women and changed their lives as they can plan for their future. “Our great satisfaction in supporting family planning is to see that women always seek to improve the quality of life of their families and continue with their education,” said Sara Lara, director of ProAves.
THE POWER TO CHOOSE
Certain contraceptive methods can only be adequately provided in major cities, making this type of planning difficult for rural women. They must travel long distances to be able to go to the doctor; There are even women who walk from their rural homes for approximately 2 hours to reach a country road and be transported to the nearest city, which in many cases is two to three more hours. Difficult access to family planning has put its benefits out of reach for women and their families.
To facilitate the distribution of contraceptive methods, ProAves and its partners coordinate all the logistics and requirements so that women can go to the doctor and have access to all the procedures they require with the advice of trained personnel.
Family planning has been a central pillar in ProAves due to the need to implement a holistic and multifaceted approach to protect endangered species and stop the destruction of their habitats, through the empowerment of women.
United Nations projections predict world population growth of two billion people by 2050, an increase that will put extraordinary pressure on the world’s natural resources and threaten the conservation of some of the most biodiverse and ecologically valuable areas. of the planet. The world’s rainforests function as important carbon sinks that are key to mitigating climate change, but their ability to sequester carbon is declining.
Through our alliances we seek to continue supporting the community, especially women, to understand the importance of living in harmony with nature and its species.
We appreciate the great support of Women for Conservation for making this program a reality.