COMMUNITY WORKS AND EMPLOYMENT PROJECT (Manos a la Obra: Proyectos Comunitarios)

In order to alleviate the impact of the current economic crisis on the poor and vulnerable population, the Project would finance small, labor-intensive public works to provide temporary employment to poor workers, increase the net labor income of their families, and prevent deterioration of living standards in poor communities. The project would contribute to the last goal not only through increased income from temporary work but also through improved basic services in poor communities. It is expected that about 70-100 percent of the workers hired under subprojects financed by the Project would come from households in the first (bottom) quintile of the household income distribution. In addition, subprojects would be located in communities in the first and second quintiles of the Quality of Life Index or Indice de Calidad de Vida (ICV).This employment-generation project is a key part of the Government of Colombias (GOC) evolving Red de Apoyo Social (RAS) program designed to expand and strengthen Colombia's social safety net system, enabling it to respond faster and better during times of crisis.