Introduction:

Many Colombian families live in inequality and inequity conditions; therefore, not all groups enjoy the same opportunities to promote successful parents - children upbringing. Such is the case of forced displaced and homeless families in Altos de Oriente II settlement, whose child rearing experiences have been stigmatized by some hegemonic public health discourses.

Objective:

To understand the meanings of upbringing from the historical, sociocultural and ontological dimensions in a group of caregivers living in an extreme injustice’s condition in Altos de Oriente II settlement, in the setting of a people’s education process.

Method:

An ethnography methodology was carried out following the critical interpretive stream, through participant observation. Pregnant women and caregivers of children under five were summoned. Written records were coded and categorized simultaneously to reflective analysis.

Results:

Different experiences were describe regarding the children upbringing experienced by significant caregivers participating, that upbringing performed as mothers or grandmothers, and the ideas of child rearing they long for their children or grandchildren. Despite having a history of extreme injustice experienced since their childhood, these women are struggling to carry out the upbringing they value.

Conclusions:

Findings reveal how mothers and grandmothers internalize violence and extreme injustice as part of their lives and their child rearing experiences, thus, recognizing themselves as the only responsible for the events they lived and the ones they are currently living. They cannot identify and understand structural factors that determine their lives.

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