Contents -- Foreword -- Acknowledgments -- Terms and Abbreviations -- Chapter 1: The Colombia Study: Proposals for Action -- Country Context -- Why a Participatory Approach? -- Chapter 2: Employment, Work, and Opportunities -- Urban Livelihoods: Informality on the Rise -- Deterioration of Formal Employment -- El Rebusque: Insecure and Low Paying -- Barrio Stigma -- The Strain of Changing Gender Roles -- The World of Rural Work -- Issues around Land -- Marketing: The Missing Link -- Environmental Degradation -- Indigenous and Afro-Colombian Aspirations -- Persistent Disadvantages for Rural Women -- Children and Youths: At Work and Endangered -- Organization and Capacity Building as Ways Forward -- Chapter 3: Violence and Insecurity -- The Backdrop of Political Violence -- Fear and Impotence in the Battle for Territory -- Vigilante Justice -- Economic Impact of Violence -- Families and Communities Uprooted: The Internally Displaced -- Youths Caught Up in Violence -- Rising Domestic Abuse: Forms and Causes -- Abuse of Women -- Many Triggers -- Children Battered and Abandoned -- Breaking the Chain of Violence -- Chapter 4: Education and Capacities -- High Hopes for Education -- Schools Failing the Grade -- Useless for Work -- Little Learning, Unmotivated Teachers -- Limited Access and Infrastructure -- Unjustifiably Expensive -- Another Battleground -- The Shame of Discrimination -- Pushed and Pulled Out of School -- Vocational Education Valued but Scarce -- Nonschool Actors in Education -- Education Must Be Relevant -- Chapter 5: Institutional and Policy Challenges -- Weak Institutions: Keeping the Poor Poor -- Unaccountable Politicians, Exclusionary Policies -- Services Denied -- Who Takes the Credit? -- Mixed Reviews for NGOs -- Stigmatized and Divided Communities, Fragile NGOs -- Poor People's Proposals.

Provide Support and Capacity Building for Work -- Improve Schools -- Strengthen Family and Community Institutions -- Increase Public Safety -- Implications for Policy Formulation: From Micro to Macro -- Support Small Producers -- Invest in Community-Driven Development -- Target the Family as a Unit -- Establish Inclusive Accountability Mechanisms across Government -- Develop Tailored and Integrated Strategies -- References -- Annex 1: Methodological Instrument for the Fieldwork -- Research Agenda -- The Study Process -- Annex 2: Selection and Characteristics of Sites -- List of Boxes -- Box 1. Informal Recycling in Pasto -- Box 2. An Urgent Need for Daycare -- Box 3. Child Labor in the Harvest Season -- Box 4. Asociación La Nueva Esperanza -- Box 5. "Be Quiet and Silent" -- Box 6. Vigilante Justice Leads to More Violence -- Box 7. A Dangerous and Stigmatized Neighborhood -- Box 8. Farming Skills of No Use in the City -- Box 9. Alternatives to Juvenile Delinquency -- Box 10. Education and Cultural Expression -- Box 11. Child Hunger -- Box 12. Children's Fears and Hopes in School -- Box 13. Education in the Heart of the Community -- Box 14. Proposals to Overcome Lack of Information -- Box 15. Proposals to Reduce the Vulnerability of Youth -- Box 16. Nonviolent Community Responses to Violence -- Box 17. Magdalena Medio Project: Fostering Peace and Development amid Conflict -- List of Figures -- Figure 1. Youth Delinquency: The Cycle of Acceptance -- Figure 2. Labor Trends among Women in Medellín -- Figure 3. Opportunities and Obstacles: A Youth Training Proposal -- Figure 4. The Rise of Neighborhood Violence, 1995-2002 -- Figure 5. Trends in Domestic Violence -- Figure 6. The Chain of Violence -- Figure 7. Opportunities and Obstacles: A Proposal to Reduce Domestic Violence -- Figure 8. Opportunities and Obstacles: A Proposal for One-Stop Family Services.

Figure 9. Causes and Effects of Dropping Out of School -- Figure 10. Number and Type of Proposals -- Figure 11. Opportunities and Obstacles: Proposal for an Association of Single-Mother Domestic Workers -- List of Tables -- Table 1. Nature under Pressure in Sanquianga -- Table 2. Relative Importance of Educational Actors -- Table 3. Attacking the Causes of High Dropout Rates -- Table 4. Proposals to Support Employment -- Table 5. Proposals to Build Capacity for Work -- Table 6. Proposals to Improve Education -- Table 7. Proposals to Support Families and Communities -- Table 8. Proposals to Improve Public Safety.