For over 40 years, Colombia has been a nation not only in the throes of conflict, but a country consistently hit by natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes, severe flooding and volcanic eruptions. Subjected to this vast spectrum of emergencies the country’s infrastructure has deteriorated, allowing for an illicit drug trade to flourish, endemic violence to spread, and vast social inequities to persist. Across the country young people, parents, teachers, government and non-governmental organizations have consistently pointed to education as a long-term approach to help mitigate the violence and better prepare society to cope with natural disasters.