How the idea of Future4ColombianKids came about

By:

When I found out that my mother supported a foundation for children in Chía, I immediately asked her if we would like to surprise the children with a few gifts on the occasion of our Christmas family visit to Colombia.

The foundation told us that any kind of help would be greatly appreciated. However, the best way to help the children would be to give them shoes and underwear. They get toys more often, but nobody usually thinks about shoes and underwear. My sister immediately joined this initiative and thanks to my mother's logistical support, we were all able to deliver the presents together as a family on Christmas Eve.

Little did we know at the time that this day would shape our lives and inspire us to want to support the foundation in the long term. During the visit, we quickly realized that it couldn't just be about giving presents once a year.

I will never forget how we arrived with the cars full of presents. The children ate tamales (a dish wrapped in banana leaves), which is very typical at Christmas time in Colombia. María Paola, the director of the foundation, invited us on a tour while the children ate breakfast. She began by saying that the greatest gift for a person is the family they are born into. A lot of a person's life depends on this. And she is absolutely right. We were all born into privileged families, with many opportunities to develop as individuals, to study, to travel. And that is precisely why we have a social responsibility to help those who were not born in such circumstances.

I am also convinced that as parents we have a responsibility to teach our own children to be empathetic and also to help those whose lives have been far more difficult due to fate from birth.

As a mother, it broke my heart to realize that these innocent children were actually victims of sexual violence. Without the help and protection of the foundation, these children will not have a fair chance of a happy future.

This is how the idea of Future4ColombianKids was born. We certainly can't save the world with our contribution, but with a small contribution and the help of everyone who wants to support us, we can change the lives of these children for the better.

Thanks to your help, we will be able to do more than just give the children shoes and underwear!