Photo Credit: Refugees International
11/23/2007

Caridad and her five children represent a typical IDP family in Tumaco, where men are scarce. Caridad has been living in Tumaco for over five years, and was abandoned by the father of her children, who left because he could not support the family. Caridad does not work, and her children are not in school. They survive by doing piecemeal work and relying on the goodwill of their neighbors. Because the overwhelming majority of IDP families are headed by single women or widows, these women depend on each other to meet the daily needs of their families.