The officer has 16 years of experience in handling explosive devices.
In an exaltation ceremony held in the capital city of the country, the organization JCI Colombia and JCI Bogotá brought together different productive groups and sectors.
The Ten Outstanding Young People program TOYP Colombia is awarded annually to people who excel in different disciplines; this time, Lieutenant Colonel Jorge Alexander Flechas, commander of the Humanitarian Demining Engineers Battalion No. 1 was the winner in the category Contribution to children, to world peace and human rights.
In his 23 years of service at the institution, Colonel Flechas has prevented dozens of victims of anti-personnel mines in conflict zones, this due to his great experience in the handling of explosive devices. It has already been 16 years in which this military man, a native of Boyacá, has neutralized the threat of prepared areas and vehicles equipped with explosives on roads in Norte de Santander and Arauca.
Currently, in the humanitarian demining tasks carried out in the department of Caquetá, the colonel, together with his soldiers, has presented the municipalities of Belén de los Andaquíes and El Doncello as contamination-free territories, where anti-personnel mines planted in schools have in the same way been destroyed. In particular in the rural area of Florencia, the mine clearance specialists found ten explosive devices that didn’t let children of the Embera people going to study.
Meanwhile, as a commander, he has led initiatives for the education of children and adolescents in the Amazon region. This is how eight rural schools and recreational areas have been adapted, which improve the green areas, toilets, roofs, painting and other maintenance tasks that now take 1400 students to receive their classes in optimal conditions, working for the restoration of the basic rights of children.
Thanks to the presentation with the communities, the nurse soldiers have provided first aid and conducted more than 50 medical evacuations of pregnant mothers and inhabitants who required assistance in care centers.
In its environmental commitment, this officer in coordination with corporations and other institutions, has participated in the planting of more than 40,000 specimens in territories free of contamination of anti-personnel mines, which contributes to the recovery of deforested areas.
Source: Press, National Army of Colombia
