We protect, support and empower children
....and young people that are survivors or at risk of the most neglected issues in Colombia.
Are you a runner?
Whether you're an experienced athlete or aspiring to run your first race, sign up to an event to raise funds to continue supporting children and young people in Colombia!
Join us at our annual Thames Walk fundraiser!
Bring your family and friends along on Saturday 29th June for a fantastic summer’s day out.
Bring your family and friends along on Saturday 29th June for a fantastic summer’s day out as we complete a 10-mile walk along the Thames followed by a picnic in the beautiful Richmond Park.
Our free programme will take place on Saturdays beginning 20th April, with workshops focusing on language and culture.
WHAT WE DO
We defend the rights of children at risk
in Colombia
We work to ensure that every child can claim their right to a safe and happy childhood and a fulfilling future.We believe that, with an understanding of their rights and the confidence to assert them, children can transform their own lives, their communities and Colombia itself.
We work with local partners to tackle key neglected issues
These are issues that pose a serious threat to children's rights and wellbeing, but on which not enough work is being done
Latest News
Building Peace Through Nature
In collaboration with Misión Gaia, we seek to build peacebuilding frameworks through the pursuit of environmental conservation in La Sierra Nevada.
Read MoreWomen Changing the World Awards: Angela Carreno
Ángela Carreño, our Executive Director, has been announced as a nominee for the 2024 Women Changing the World Awards, in the category People’s Choice women changing the non-profit world.
Read MoreNurturing Hope: The Importance of Touch for Child Development
Sandy is a childhood development specialist and the Director of the Spanish speaking branch of Blossom and Berry. Her passion for baby massage and methods of implementing nurturing touch has...
Read MoreEvents
Coast to Coast Fundraiser
A group of Colombian cyclists are embarking on the coast to coast cycle, crossing the country from the Irish Sea to the North Sea in just 3 days, to raise...
Read MoreColombia Colores Summer Cycle: Language and Culture
The next cycle of our Colombia Colores workshops will begin on 20th April. Sign your kids up today for 12 weeks of free workshops on Colombian languages and culture!
Read MoreThames Walk 2024
Join us for a fantastic summer’s day out as we complete a 10-mile walk along the Thames followed by a picnic in the beautiful Richmond Park.
Read MoreGet Involved
Whether you make a donation, fundraise, volunteer or come to one of our events, you will be helping Colombia’s most at risk children and their families to challenge poverty, inequality and violence.
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KEY FIGURES
Over the past 33 years we’ve supported...
Over 72,942 children to overcome the trauma of poverty, armed conflict, displacement, and lack of education.
This has been achieved through collaborations with grassroots social organisations in Colombia. To date we have raised £15 million to fund 68 projects.
Funders and Supporters
History Timeline
Children of the Andres (COTA), now known as Children Change Colombia (CCC), was born in 1991 following a documentary by Desmond Wilcox about homeless and at-risk children living in the sewers of Bogotá. This tragedy sparked an emotional response from many around the world.
COTA built a children's home near Bogotá where 300 children lived, attended school, and learnt trades such as carpentry, weaving, baking, and leatherwork. The centre offered a complete education, trade training, health care, and recreational programmes.
COTA supported the Flying Doctor Service (North West of Colombia) which fought against life-threatening diseases in children such as malaria and cholera. Surgeries for those with disabilities were provided, and a Blindness Prevention Programme was implemented against diseases that affect eyesight.
The centre was a peace-building and youth initiative that sought to engage children in gangs in Usme in dance and music. The children practiced many different kinds of artwork, dance, and recreational activities. By the 2000s, the center implemented rap and breakdance workshops with street gang members.
COTA began working with Colegio del Cuerpo. This social dance project used dance to help children recover from the trauma of witnessing war, increase their sense of self-worth, and cope with life as displaced young people. The reports showed that the programme improved school attendance, behaviour, academic performance, and the ability to deal with conflicts.
The goal of this organisation was to help families displaced by conflict start a new life. Through the "PeaceBuilding Community" set up in Apartadó with the support of COTA, more than 7,700 people received direct therapeutic, nutritional, educational, and vocational help.
We started working with the Fundamor foundation which provided medical, educational, and emotional support to orphaned and abandoned children affected HIV/ AIDS.
Fundacion Carvajal worked to help children develop the skills to protect themselves against violence and keep them off the streets by improving their educational performance. It addressed low attainment levels in five schools in Buenaventura by working with 500 children aged 6 to 11.
In 2016, COTA now named Children Change Colombia (CCC) supported Fundescodes in Buenaventura, which was a strategic area for the armed actors in Colombia's conflict. There, many children were exposed to the violence of the illegal armed groups. Fundescodes worked to protect children's rights and support children suffering from the conflict.
CCC has been supporting ACJ (Bogotá) since 2010. ACJ provides recreational workshops for children and young people, as well as their families where they learn about their rights and how to protect themselves from sexual exploitation. They also work with young sex workers and their children, helping them to find alternative employment.
Since 2013, CCC has worked with Tiempo de Juego (TDJ) in Cazucá, Soacha. TDJ runs a project to generate vital skills and positive role models for children through activities like football, dance, and a work creation programme. Today, TDJ uses its activities to work against the recruitment of children into armed groups and preventing young people from joining gangs.
CCC has worked with CRAN since 2015 to reintegrate children and young people who have been part of illegal armed groups (including FARC) into civilian life in Bogotá and Villavicencio.
CCC began a new partnership with Círculo de Estudios in Quibdó to reduce the risk of conflict-related sexual violence against children and young people. They currently work with children and young people in Quibdó and Cartagena.
ACADESAN works to prevent the use of child labour in illegal mining, deforestation activities and coca farming in the rural regions of Chocó & Valle del Cauca by tackling high student dropout rates and improving the quality of education in local schools.
El Origen provides access to education in the Northern Caribbean region. El Origen works with five schools to help teachers create fun and educational lessons for the children through an app that works offline and so can be accessed in rural regions.
Misión Gaia works in schools in Magdalena to improve the quality of education through teacher training, the provision of resources and extracurricular activities and classes in order to improve social skills as well as vocational training.