ABOUT US
Children Change Colombia is an international NGO that works with children and their families in Colombia to challenge poverty, inequality and violence
Our Mission
Support, empower and protect children and young people that are survivors or are at risk of the most neglected issues in Colombia, by strengthening local grassroots to positively impact their communities and defend their rights in the long term.
Our Vision
Create a better everyday life for the children and young people who are survivors or at risk from Colombia’s most neglected issues.
We've supported...
- 2.119 children to freedom from violence, abuse and neglect
- 1.568 children to freedom from sexual exploitation
- 2.098 children to freedom of expression
- 667 children to recovery from trauma
- 1.076 children to relax, play and enjoy a range of cultural activities
- 705 children to protection from involvement in war and armed conflict
Our Aims
Since 1991, we have been working in partnership with local children’s organisations who have a proven record in defending the rights of children most affected by poverty, inequality and conflict.
With our partners, we protect these children from violence, sexual exploitation and neglect, keep them out of the hands of armed groups, and help them demand change. Importantly, we also work with adults – parents, teachers, policy makers – to help them keep children safe now and protect them in the long-term.
1. Defend the rights of the children most at risk by:
2. Tackle neglected issues that few others address
3. Strengthen children's organisations in Colombia
Our Values
Children Change Colombia’s institutional values represent the values that the organisation needs to develop or strengthen to meet the goals it has agreed to achieve in the next 5 years. These values should be used to inform decision-making.
Focus on impact
Creating positive impact, ensuring projects deliver real benefits that make a real improvement to children in Colombia.
Transparency
In the information that partners and CCC share with each other, and with the general public
Horizontality
Rejecting hierarchies with our partners, the rules are consensual and there is open dialogue
Bold
Being positive in outlook, finding solutions to problems, believing in all children.
Programme Flexibility
In the implementation of projects depending on context and external changes to circumstances, there are options to adapt the activities and goals.
Inclusive
Working collaboratively with partner organisations, communities, and children without discrimination, to overcome barriers to participation.
Committed
To understanding the most complex and long-term challenges; to tackling the most neglected issues; and challenging the inequalities that put children at risk.
What We Believe
A child’s vulnerability often has multiple causes and many different people and institutions have an influence on their welfare: for example, a child’s risk of being a victim of commercial sexual exploitation is affected by their parents’ economic situation, the quality of their local school, the professionalism of their social worker and the protection they receive from the police.
For this reason, Children Change Colombia believes that if all children in Colombia are to enjoy their right to a safe and happy childhood, children, families, communities, government and non-government agencies must work together.
What changes can children make?
Colombia needs the talents and experiences of all its children and young people, in particular those who have been excluded because of poverty, inequality and violence, in order to create a truly ‘post-conflict’ society. They must be listened to, not spoken for. And now is the time to include them in the process.
We work with excluded children, to empower them to participate in the development of their country. To fail to include them would be to waste the full capacity of Colombian society, to miss the opportunity to make a more democratic, more equal society, and to deny these children their right to have their voices heard.
Personal Changes
By building their self-esteem and developing their understanding of their rights, our partners help young people transform their way of thinking about themselves.
Family, Friends, Peers
As children grow in confidence, they often begin to encourage the people around them to make changes that positively impact their communities.
School
Children can also be inspired by the projects to share what they have learned there in school, with both their peers and teachers.
Community
Some young people might be interested in being community leaders, or positive role models in their community.
Local government and NGOs
Children can also work with local government and non-governmental institutions to push for change.
National government and international advocacy
Other children are taking their demands for change to national government and even to the international arena.