Colombia
by Bayley, Mia, Mirelle
Population:In Colombia approximately 48 million people live in Colombia. The population is spread unevenly all around the country. Most of the majority of Colombian people mostly live in valleys and basins.
3 Most Practiced Languages:The official language of Colombia is Spanish, which is spoken by 99% of the population. There are also over 60 tribal languages, but the people who speak them make up only a very small percentage of the population. Colombia is very devoted keeping their main language Spanish. They even passed a law to ensure that it wouldn't change! Here are some phrases/ words in Spanish:
Hello: Hola How are you: Como estas? Water: Agua I'm hungry: Tengo hambre I need water: Yo necesito agua. Click here to read more about Colombia Major Religions:Although Colombia grants the people with freedom of worship, most Colombians are Roman Catholics that actively practice this religion. Many Roman Catholics have joined Protestant churches since the late 1900's. The Catholic Church has a good relationship with the government.
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General Geography & Environment:Colombia is the only country in the continent with a coast along the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean. Colombia's landscape and climate range from hot lowland plains to the snow capped Andes mountains. Although the equator passes through Southern Colombia, some of the country has a colder climate because of the higher elevation. Colombian farmers are able to grow bananas, coffee, flowers, potatoes, and rice due to the differences in climate throughout the country. It is one of the world's leading coffee countries. Colombia's coastal lowlands lie along the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean. The Caribbean lowlands contain about 12 percent of the industry. Beyond the main cities lie banana, cotton, and sugar cane plantations; cattle ranches; and many small farms are also in that area. Few people live in the Pacific lowlands because it consists mostly of swamps and forests with heavy rains nearly every day.
Click Here to read more about Colombia Major Ethnicities:Ever since Christopher Columbus had landed in now Colombia the indigenous people had intermarried with the Europeans. Soon when African slaves were brought Africans and indigenous or Europeans had intermarried. Now in Columbia there is a variety of ethnic groups!
Popular Music:Click here to listen to some Colombian music.
Colombia is a very musical country. Some of it's main genres of music are Vallenato and Bambuco. Vallenato music is usually made with an accordion, a type of drum called caja, and a percussion instrument called a guacharaca. Bambuco is made with a guitar or mandolin, and a smaller 12 string guitar called a tiiple. |
Colombia & Water:
What are some of the problems with the water supply?
Some of the problems with the water supply are that in the big cities, there is running water, but it needs to be purified before you drink it in most buildings. There are nearly 48 million people living in Colombia, and roughly 12 million of those people do not have access to running water. Ever since 1990, the people with access to clean water has decreased from 95% to 94% in urban cities. Fortunately the percentage of access to clean water in rural areas has gone from 38% to 68%. But that leaves 26% of the rural population that is still using contaminated water. Some of the things that are contaminating water in Colombia are residual chlorine, microorganisms, E. coli, and coliform bacteria.
How does insufficient access to clean water contribute to societal problems?
There are many factors for kids and adults that aren't able to have clean water. When drinking unclean water people can lose tons of things that are important to them. Such as friends, family, school, free time, and more. One side effect to drinking dirty water is sickness. In total, 443 million school days are lost because of sickness from water borne diseases.
How are these water problems being addressed?
Like many other countries in the world Colombia is one of the places that don't have access to clean fresh water. Many organizations like H20 for life are working in Colombia for years trying to fight for clean fresh water. Although some of main cities such as Bogota or Cali have fresh water running water, many places such as small town villages do not have access to fresh and delicious water! Some of the most popular ways that organizations have saved water is by creating water wells, weirs, and rain catchment tanks. Since Colombia is a tropical country they can receive rain a few times a month. Tropical rainstorms can occur in Colombia which can cause floods which would be a great for dams that would collect water for weirs or catchment tanks. Besides clean drinking water there are also projects called WASH which stands for water, sanitation, and hygiene project. This project can be more of an inspection which volunteers can check the country such as Colombia and check to see if the country meets expectations for help. Many people are trying to help these countries that don’t have this basic necessity!
Some of the problems with the water supply are that in the big cities, there is running water, but it needs to be purified before you drink it in most buildings. There are nearly 48 million people living in Colombia, and roughly 12 million of those people do not have access to running water. Ever since 1990, the people with access to clean water has decreased from 95% to 94% in urban cities. Fortunately the percentage of access to clean water in rural areas has gone from 38% to 68%. But that leaves 26% of the rural population that is still using contaminated water. Some of the things that are contaminating water in Colombia are residual chlorine, microorganisms, E. coli, and coliform bacteria.
How does insufficient access to clean water contribute to societal problems?
There are many factors for kids and adults that aren't able to have clean water. When drinking unclean water people can lose tons of things that are important to them. Such as friends, family, school, free time, and more. One side effect to drinking dirty water is sickness. In total, 443 million school days are lost because of sickness from water borne diseases.
How are these water problems being addressed?
Like many other countries in the world Colombia is one of the places that don't have access to clean fresh water. Many organizations like H20 for life are working in Colombia for years trying to fight for clean fresh water. Although some of main cities such as Bogota or Cali have fresh water running water, many places such as small town villages do not have access to fresh and delicious water! Some of the most popular ways that organizations have saved water is by creating water wells, weirs, and rain catchment tanks. Since Colombia is a tropical country they can receive rain a few times a month. Tropical rainstorms can occur in Colombia which can cause floods which would be a great for dams that would collect water for weirs or catchment tanks. Besides clean drinking water there are also projects called WASH which stands for water, sanitation, and hygiene project. This project can be more of an inspection which volunteers can check the country such as Colombia and check to see if the country meets expectations for help. Many people are trying to help these countries that don’t have this basic necessity!
Photographs are courtesy of the following websites:
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