Family planning in the community

From the centre of Bogota, it is a good fifty minute drive, heading south along the Autopista Sur and, at a determined point, turning left onto a dirt-paved road alongside fields filled with diminutive ‘social interest’ houses and cows.  When we arrived at our final destination – Barrio la Esperanza in Soacha – one of the poorer parts of Bogota, even if it’s not officially part of the city.

The aim of the trip was to observe one of Profamilia’s brigadas in action.  This is a project run by the NGO that involves sending out a nurse and a psychologist to visit with socially excluded women, perform cervical smear tests and speak about sexual and reproductive rights.  When we arrived, there were over 40 women, mostly mothers, waiting for us, summoned by the voice over the loudspeaker calling out to the mamitas .

The first part of the chat was on women’s rights, how to identify violence, what to do about it and explications about how to make one’s rights effective.  Then the nurse gave a talk about sex – from contraceptives to sterilisation.  As a number of these women have been obliged to have children by their partners, this is particularly important.  Many also either don’t know very much about contraception, or fear possible consequences should their partners discover this ‘evidence’ of ‘unfaithfulness.’

At the end of everything, the Legal Director of the NGO waved her hand towards us and commented that as we were all lawyers, if the women needed any advice, they just had to ask; and, so, I found myself giving legal advice about alimony payments.  What really amazed me was the amount – 35,000 Colombian pesos per week, which is roughly $20, a struggle, both to raise and not to receive.  Officially, the minimum wage is 461,500 Colombian pesos, or around $240 – notwithstanding, many Colombians would consider themselves lucky to receive this.

It was a sobering experience which left me humbled.  It’s hard to worry about the bigger picture when you struggle to pay the most basic stuff.