Photos: Foundation “Niños de los Andes”
The latest news comes from Colombia, where the Foundation “Niños de los Andes” (Manizales branch) recently received a donation of 11 binoculars, 1 monocular and 1 camera. For over 30 years, the Foundation has been helping to change the lives of hundreds of vulnerable children and adolescents whose rights have been violated and who have suffered abuse, neglect, exploitation, street life and poor schooling, by providing them with a home, education, health, nutrition, sports and recreation.
Located in a rural area of the city of Manizales, the Foundation currently provides comprehensive residential care for 150 children and adolescents. It is surrounded by 12 hectares of native forest that is rich in biodiversity. Recognizing the healing power of nature for children, last year the Foundation started a bird-watching project and formed the “Children’s Brigade – Custodians of the Forest”. The aim of these activities is to instill in the children a love of the land and of science, to arouse their curiosity and to provide them with a good foundation for their future careers, “with the illusion that they will become future biologists, doctors, zoo technicians, artists and much more”. They are now preparing the publication of the booklet “Species that live in our forest”, which will facilitate the spread of knowledge among the children. The donation of the optical equipment has been fundamental to these projects and has even encouraged a campaign to raise funds by planting trees.
We are touched and delighted by this success story and would like to express the gratitude of the “Niños de los Andes” Foundation to those who donated the equipment. For more information about the foundation and its activities, please visit their website and Instagram profile.