Just one week after the United States indicted six Colombian rebels for murder and rewarded the Colombian government with $104 million for making “real progress” toward better protecting human rights, bombs from rebel forces killed 117 civilians in a church—a third of them children. Children and the poor continue to bear the brunt of a 40-year cycle of violence.

"The poor suffer the most in this war, and the children are the hardest hit. They are the first to get sick, to get hurt and to go hungry. And they are among the first people rebel groups seek out for new recruits. Of the 2 million Colombians who have been displaced from their homes, nearly 800,000 are children," said John Schenk, World Vision photojournalist who has done extensive work in Colombia. "The war on drugs is being fought on the wrong front. Rather than victimize the Colombian poor, the U.S needs to solve its domestic drug problem. Until the demand for drugs dries up, regrettably, there will always be a Colombian supply."

World Vision has been in Colombia since 1971. Today, World Vision helps more than 48,000 sponsored children and their families in 14 communities. In addition, World Vision offers microenterprise development programs, works with families who have been displaced from their homes and participates actively in the Colombian Children’s Peace Movement.