“We help children in need of a family through our adoption program, promoting social justice. We work with the community striving to encourage peaceful family living.” — FANA Mission
Located in Suba, the 11th locality of the Ca
pital District of the Colombian capital city, Bogotá, FANA (the Spanish acronym for the Foundation for the Assistance of Abandoned Children) is a modern facility with up-to-date medical care, staff and equipment capable of caring for 150 children. FANA is also able to offer prenatal and delivery services to any birth mother in need. Any child who is placed for adoption is cared for in a new born intensive care facility under the supervision of full-time physicians and medical personnel.For nearly 40 years, FANA has strived to improve the lives of more than 13,000 children in need with housing, recreation, food, clothing, health and education service, and ensuring they receive adequate social and psychological care. FANA’s dedication has allowed more than 9,000 children to find families, love and care and to uncover the possibility of a better future. More than 4,000 children have benefited from FANA’s protection and rehabilitation program while a decision on their legal status is made.
FANA’s programs follow both Colombian Legislation and International Agreements regarding children protection, including the International Convention on Childrens Rights and The Hague Convention. The organization is dully authorized by Colombia’s state welfare authority Insitituo Colombiano de Bienestar Familiar to operate as an adoption center. In compliance with ICBF’s mission and following its mandate, FANA protects, oversees, and guarantees respect for the children’s right to become part of a family where he or she can adequately grow and develop.
FANA provides the following services:
- Comprehensive protection program for boys and girls 0 to 13
- Adoption Program
- Center for the Family’s Comprehensive Development
- Attention to Pregnant Women
Through FANA, thousands of children have found loving, permanent homes. Many other children have received temporary care, including nutrition and shelter, clothing, medical and dental care, and schooling before returning to their birth families.
Young women in need of assistance are welcomed at the Hogar Marguerite, affiliated with FANA, and are offered counseling, vocational training, medical care, as well as basic necessities. FANA headquarters include a fully staffed medical facility for the children from the time of their births, including intensive care and physical therapy; living, classroom, and play areas (indoor and outdoor) for the children; support areas such as kitchen, bakery, dining room, and laundry; and FANA offices. There is dormitory space for the children, as well as a dormitory available for adopted persons who wish to return and volunteer to help at FANA.
Adoptive parents from Colombia, North America, Europe, and Australia have been able to love and nurture children, something that might not otherwise been a part of their lives. Children from Colombia without a traditional family have received the opportunity to reach their full potential and know the love of a devoted family. Colombian birth mothers have received the prenatal and health services they need as well as valuable vocational skills from FANA. Foster children who are not available for adoption but need short-term or specialized care are lovingly supported in the state-of-the-art FANA facility.
Much of FANA’s support comes through the families who have adopted children from FANA. Friends of FANA groups have been created in many of the areas where the adopting families live. Those non-profit groups regularly raise money and donate equipment to FANA through events, and provide programs to help the children stay in touch with their Colombian heritage.
History of FANA
Mercedes Martinez takes time out to say "Hola" to visiting Families of FANA, WNY kids.
What began as one couple’s personal dream has become a source of joy, fulfillment and a better quality of life for tens of thousands of people throughout the world.
The story began when Mercedes and Arturo learned it was unlikely they could have children. At the time, adoption in Colombia was extremely difficult, so they turned to Canada, where Mercedes had attended school. There, in 1968, they adopted their first daughter, Maria Lucia. Four years later, they sought another child, but this time in Colombia. They were able to adopt a second girl, Elena, but also were inspired to make the situation in Colombia easier for the many abandoned children and the would-be parents who longed for children.
Mercedes gives a FANA Kid a tour while he awaits the presentation of his baby sister. Mercedes' kids are never far from her heart.
From utilizing their own home to using a rented house in Bogotá, and then moving to a larger rented house, and eventually to the addition of the building next door, FANA grew. At the same time, Mercedes, the daughter of the former governor of the city of Cartagena, began working her way through government and legal channels to be recognized by Colombian authorities and to make the adoption process less cumbersome.
Along the way, she enlisted help from hundreds of volunteers, donations from charities and support groups, and even a mission sent to Colombia after she was invited for an audience with the Pope. By 1995, FANA was able to erect and move into its current facility on a three-acre site in the suburb of Suba. The results have touched so many lives in so many ways.
LET’S GIVE A FAMILY TO A CHILD AND NOT A CHILD TO A FAMILY
