The Wayuu People

The Wayuu people have a poverty rate of 84%, quite the contrast when compared to the 14.4% poverty rate of the United States (February 2022). With poverty often comes malnutrition, a circumstance in which more children die of in the La Guajira Peninsula than anywhere else in the country. It is estimated that malnutrition claims the life of 1 in 10 children under the age of five, yet a majority of the deaths that occur in homes rather than distant hospitals go unreported. These people have been termed “forgotten in the dust”, with as many as 5,000 Wayuu children dying in the past decade from malnutrition and lack of basic medical care.

Malnutrition in this area is further compounded by a desertification by foreign industry mining for coal and weather patterns that together diminish clean water in the area. Wells are almost all dry, and ones with water are left severely contaminated. All this has contributed to La Guajira’s environmental agency, Corpoguajira, to report that 75% of La Guajira families suffer from food insecurity.
The issues of the region are even more augmented with the recent influx of migrants seeking refuge from an unstable Venezuela, representing the largest migration of people in history besides to the Holocaust. Many women and children, who are exposed to abuse, neglect, and victimization do not reach major cities due to lack of money and live in informal settlements or on the streets with no guarantee of protection, jobs, education, or food security. Government programs for both the Wayuu and foreign migrants are often impeded by corruption and slow progress. By donating and volunteering in organizations such as iHelp, relief can bypass government and go to the people directly who need it the most.

Malnutrition and disease due to water scarcity and sanitation is perhaps the biggest threat to both individual and public health throughout the region of La Guajira. Working with Atix Fundación and other local organizations, we plan to repair and rebuild existing wells, build new wells, and improve sanitation processes within the communities. Increasing access to water specifically will help directly address the rampant dehydration malnutrition that threatens the inhabitants of this region, which sits at 6 times the National Colombian Average and claims the life of 1 in 10 children born in Wayuu communities.
iHelp also aims to implement innovative farming and food production methods using hydroponic technologies to help the communities in this region more efficiently produce food under water scarce conditions. The La Guajira region is very unique, with its hot and arid desert climate presenting unique challenges to implement hydroponic technology. To accomplish this long term goal, we will be working with local experts from Colombian Universities and Fundación Madrid Campestre to design, build, and test innovative approaches to this technology that are specifically designed for the challenges of the La Guajira region.

iHelp is committed to improve the learning conditions in such areas by building new structures for the communities, improving access to internet, and collaborating with the community leaders to further address the unique needs of each population. Through talks with other Colombian nonprofits, we are capable of mobilizing a large labor force through volunteers to help us with this effort. We look to explore options that utilize locally sourced and recycled materials to introduce building methods that are both renewable and economically responsible, fulfilling our pledge of creating a significant and sustainable impact.

As the dry season progresses and wells dry up further, communities rely on generators to pump water up from their few deeper wells that reach the receding water table. While engaging in dental procedures during our joint medical outreach operation, the dental equipment specifically continually maxed out their power grid. Lights flickered on and off throughout the village while the dentist carried on providing dental procedures using headlamps.

iHelp plans to improve access to power sources by installing solar panels, turning the harsh desert sun into a positive force. In Kalouyachón specifically, we are actively obtaining parts and funding to repair a wind generator that has fallen out of commission. In its absence, survival through the dry seasons has become increasingly more difficult as water cannot be pumped up from the water table. iHelp is also committed to providing safety net power sources such as fossil fuel generators in the event renewable power sources suffer malfunction or damage.