The military coup led by Pinochet in 1973 resulted in the political exile of around one million people. With the support of Trades Unions and Labour movements, faith communities and individuals, a considerable number of political refugees came to the South Yorkshire District ie Sheffield, Rotherham, Doncaster, Barnsley, from around 1975 onwards.

Whilst basic level of support to Chilean exiles and their families was provided by organisations, such as, the Joint Working Group for Chilean Refugees, the local branch of the Chile Solidarity Campaign etc and individuals involved in the solidarity movement, the Chilean refugees had to cope with a range of barriers and difficulties i.e. language, cultural barriers, broken families, loss of friends and family, mental health issues resulting from imprisonment, torture

Solidarity Work
Over the years the Chilean community have been actively involved in developing initiatives within the its own community and with others to denounce human rights abuses in Chile and Latin America, to support political prisoners and relatives of 'the Disappeared People', and people resisting the dictatorship e.g. Chilean Refugee Committee, Chile Solidarity Campaign, Chile Human Rights, Sheffield Latin American Solidarity Front, Comite de Apoyo a Chile etc. In 1987 the Chile Sports and Cultural and Development Association was set up to co-ordinate the solidarity work, and to develop self support mechanisms to develop, co-ordinate and with the aim of bringing the community together.

The changing political situation back home affected the way Chilean refugees organised themselves. Although the solidarity and human rights work continued to be a priority Chileans had to acknowledge the fact that they constituted a community with shared barriers and needs that had to be addressed by the Chileans themselves.

In response to the new situation the CSCDA started, in 1994, to work to support the needs of the remaining 300 plus Chileans living across South Yorkshire. The Association has developed as a self help organisation and has become more a part of the 'professional' voluntary sector as the community has become more established.

Since December 1998 the Association has created employment opportunities, for both community and non-community members, in priority areas of development: Community Development work, Youth Work; Community Centre and Networking; ICT (development and teaching); Mother tongue and culture (teachers for under 16 years old); and Administrative/Personnel issues. Thorughout the years the Chile SCDA has become a focal point of Chileans and Latin-Americans living in South Yorkshire and in the North of England i.e. Manchester , Liverpool, Leeds , Nottingham etc.

Current Activities
The current activities of the Association include: