A letter of understanding signed between the NGO CUSO and the Victims Unit will strengthen the employability and entrepreneurship strategies for survivors.

An agreement of understanding between the Canadian NGO CUSO INTERNATIONAL and the Victims Unit was signed on Tuesday in Bogotá, with the purpose of boosting the generation of income for the victims of armed conflict.

CUSO INTERNATIONAL is a development organization that works to reduce poverty and inequality with an emphasis on the population of young people, women and victims. In Colombia it works in eight cities: Bogotá, Soacha, Medellín, Quibdó, Cali, Cartagena, Bucaramanga and Buenaventura, where in the last three years has managed to generate 5,100 jobs.

"We developed an intense work of generating trust with the companies in order to guarantee social, labor and gender inclusion for the communities," said Alejandro Matos, director in Colombia of CUSO INTERNATIONAL.

The memorandum of understanding between the two entities includes technical assistance in matters of public policies for inclusive employment, with the aim of designing a tool to respond to needs in terms of employability for victims.

As part of that objective, CUSO INTERNATIONAL has appointed a qualified volunteer to provide advice to the Victims Unit and strengthen tools, methodologies and procedures for the employability project.

"Entrepreneurship and employment guarantee for victims leverage their own life project," said Ramón Rodríguez, director of Victims Unit, to emphasize the relevance of this work with the Canadian NGO.

In turn, Ana María Almario, director of Institutional Management, highlighted the possibility of accessing a job as one of the first steps to get out of the situation of vulnerability that for many implies having been a victim of conflict.

Facing the accompaniment of the victims regarding the guarantee of their right to work, the Unit Director pointed out the need to focus all the resources of the entities involved, such as the Ministry of Labor, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Commerce , the Seine and Social Prosperity, in the same purpose.