Nearly 60% of Colombia’s millions of internally displaced persons (IDPs) are women. Many of these women lost not only their homes, but also their husbands, brothers and sons to ongoing violence. Colombian women have suffered through torture, rape and numerous other abuses. But in a steep mountainside settlement above the city of Medellin, a group of displaced women are making a difference.

They call themselves “Creative Women of Hope”—or “Mujeres Creativas con Esperanza”—and they live up to their name. These women, forced to leave their households and possessions, have built a life of dignity in spite limited opportunities and dire poverty. Worldview talks with Astrid Suarez and Ruth Goring. They founded the group “Colombia Vive Chicago” to provide solidarity, support and comfort to these determined women in Colombia.