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Chile

René Banera at campamento Peñalolen where he lives. Residents have set up a committee to lobby for funding for local services [Kate Stanworth]

CAFOD has worked in Chile since the early 1970s, promoting indigenous land rights and opportunities for rural employment

In 1973 the constitutional government was overthrown by a military coup led by General Augusto Pinochet, who ruled the country as a dictator until an elected president was restored in 1990.

Key challenges

Land rights: Due to lack of assistance and credit programmes for small-scale farmers, Mapuche indigenous peoples and communities have lost their land, been driven onto small infertile plots of land or into cities where they form the poorest section of society.

CAFOD spent £77,000 in Chile in 2006-07

Rural employment: The emergence of large agricultural export businesses has led to the selling of small landholdings and a system of seasonal labour for men and women on large plantations and in fruit-processing factories.

Long periods of unemployment present difficulties for rural families, and for women in particular it is a challenge to balance home and family responsibilities with the need to seek work.

Read about the work of some of CAFOD's partners below:

Assisting women workers

The Council of Female Seasonal Workers in Curicó protects the rights and dignity of women workers, and helps them to find ways to cope with seasonal income and employment.

Land distribution is unequal and indigenous peoples have suffered as a result, being driven onto small areas of infertile land [Rosa Parisi]

Supporting Mapuche communities

Two CAFOD partners work to support Chile's indigenous Mapuche communities.

Alfonso Baeza, President of the Social Pastoral Commission in Santiago, Chile [CAFOD]

'A church that is close to the poor'

Alfonso Baeza, President of the Social Pastoral Commission, discusses his organisation's work with the poorest communities in Santiago, Chile.

CAFOD partner wins award in Chile

Elisa Avendaño Curaqueo, founder of CAFOD partner Mapuche Ñi Kimvn, has won a major award in recognition of her tireless dedication to strengthening Mapuche culture in urban areas of Chile

What CAFOD spends its money on

How much does CAFOD spend on administration and generating funds?
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How does CAFOD decide which project or programme to fund?
Why does CAFOD spend 10 per cent of its funds on education, campaigning and public policy work?
Does CAFOD only fund Catholic organisations?
Why doesn’t CAFOD work with poor people in the UK?
How many people work for CAFOD?

Moving on: The 1970s

CAFOD begins its first education campaign, and supports the promise made by the world's richest nations to fund development with 0.7% of their income

Celebrating the life of Oscar Romero [Chris Bain]

Courageous and costly witness

Pat Jones, the former deputy director of CAFOD, reflects on how the Oscar Romero story of placing trust in God must be treasured, remembered, and re-told for future generations

More than three million people in Colombia have been forced to flee their homes during decades of fighting between guerrilla groups, paramilitaries and the army - the highest number of displaced people in the world after Sudan [CARITAS Colombia/CAFOD]

Support our partners in their struggle

CAFOD has repeatedly asked the UK government to press the Colombian authorities to publicly defend human rights. Please support this call to action and the work of our partners in Colombia by emailing your MP now.

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