Celia Perry

Children of the Andes

COUNTRY:  Colombia

PROGRAM

Children of the Andes is a British charity that, through extensive fundraising, is able to offer financial support to several Colombian programs that help street children.  These programs include but are not limited to: Fe y Alegria, Cedavida, Circo Para Todos, Aprendiendo y Vivir, and Fundación Niños de los Andes (FNA).

LOCATION

Children of the Andes’ headquarters is located in London, yet the FNA and the other organizations that Children of the Andes supports are mostly in Bogotá and Manizales.

HISTORY of the PROGRAM

Fundación Niños de los Andes was founded in 1988.  The UK charity, Children of the Andes was set up three years later in response to FNA reports that children were living in the sewers.  Funds were immediately raised for night patrols that took food and medicine to the children of the streets.  In the following years, a more extensive network of services was created.  Since its founding, Children of the Andes has expanded the list of organizations that it supports.

FINANCIAL BASIS

Just over half of this group’s funding comes in the form of private donations from British supporters.  Fundraising and grassroots organizations also contribute a large proportion.  Events such as “Walk the Andes”, “Kind Hearts and Soft Skin”, and Colombian arts events raise a substantial amount of money.

PHILOSOPHY:

Children of the Andes’ main goal is to raise worldwide awareness of the plight of the children in Colombia.  The charity funds programs that work to relieve the suffering and protect the lives of Colombia’s most vulnerable children.

Organizations Supported by Children of the Andes

Fe y Alegria:  Gangs often replace traditional families for Colombia’s street children.  This group provides an alternative to gang culture.  The center gives street kids a place to rehearse and perform their art of choice—rap.  

Aprendiendo y Vivir:  This organization tries to break the cycle of abuse, prostitution and single motherhood into which so many poor girls fall.  The home in Bogota provides protection and care for thirty girls.

Fundacion Niños de los Andes:  This organization runs residential homes that provide full-time care for 120 former street children. Children that show reduced solvent abuse and increased interest in leaving the streets are brought to the home where they begin rehabilitation and schooling.

Cedavida:  Children are often the most severely affected victims of Colombia’s civil conflict.  Cedavida is a pre-school that provides therapy, rehabilitation and basic education for the young victims of political violence and displacement in the remote region of Urabá.

Circo Para Todos:  It’s not only a professional circus school, but also an outreach program that helps 70 street children.  By channeling their energies into creative outlets, this program improves the self-esteem and daily lives of Colombia’s street children.

WEBSITES:

            http://www.children-of-the-andes.org

            http://www.disaster.info.desastres.net/desplazados/cedavida

            http://www.feyalegria.org