We are excited to report that Michin is doing a great job in administrating not only the Knitting Machine program but the whole organization is amazing.

In a nutshell  they are an independent non-profit organization whose objective is to keep orphan and abandoned kids off the streets, give them a place to live with dignity, provide a family infracstructure so they can go to school, learn life skills, have fun and become good productive, educated citizens.

They have seven houses in a low income class neighborhood,  kids are  assigned to the houses according to age and gender for the older ones.  Each house has an admin and support staff, laundry, homework, meals, everything in each house.  Close by is the public school to which the children can walk. There is a nursery too!  Aside from everyday activities, the children are engaged in workshops, available are a bakery, (they make the most amazing roscones, more on that later), a woodshop , the instructor is a master woodworker, and the knitting workshop with our adorable Dora .

Children have access to healthcare, dentistry in both acute and prophylactic modes. Anyone who is a parent or has been around kids knows quite well what happens if one kid gets sick, pretty quick a family of 5 falls ill, think 17o kids!  As I said, distributed in 7 separate houses but each house might have an average of  30 kids, plus the staff.

One of the homes is reserved for battered women and their kids. Those women are either brought to shelter by the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare (ICBF) or they seek shelter on their own.  This program is new, and demand is increasing day by day.

Michin houses an average of 170, one hundred have no legal connection to their families and can be adopted If they age out of the program, they have to leave, unless they are in school, and close to graduation. The close to age out population is our main concern, they have to have a skill that allows them to make a living and be able to tend for themselves. Machine knitting, woodworking, bakery are their options right now.

In a future post, I will tell you more about how the homes work. Show some pictures of activities, and tell you about our future goals.

One of the most fulfilling experiences of the trip, was chatting with the staff and finding that their goals and dreams for these kids are the same as  the Mission of Friends of Colombian Orphans.

We need your help, we have big goals, we can do it! We have to help these kids!  We have gone far from  where we started, we will keep on going.

Can you help?  Don’t be shy $5 or more, anything will help.

Friends of Colombian Orphans will be holding a fundraiser in Oxford, England on 11/11/11. Board member Karen Brooks is having a birthday party that day, and has requested NO GIFTS – instead, guests have been requested to donate to FOCO and to bid on some wonderful raffle items including dinner for two with British author and US food television celebrity Simon Majumdar, salon gift certificates and baby clothing knitted by our Colombian cooperative.

¡No! Con el crecimiento, pensamos en ofrecer lecciones de tejer a los que quieren comprometerse a aprender y suportar la comunidad cooperativa. Sólo necesitamos más espacio y más máquinas.

¿Qué tal los leyes de trabajo de menores?

Colombia tiene leyes de trabajo de menores muy estrictos: no se permiten trabajar

las personas menos de 16 años de edad y no podemos pagarlos directamente por los productos vendibles que producen en sus clases de capacitación. Cuándo vendemos algo que ha producido un estudiante, ponemos 50% del precio de venta en su cuenta en el orfanato, y devolvemos el resto al programa de capacitación para materiales. Los estudiantes reciben sus cuentas cuándo alcanzan la edad de 18 años o cuándo salen del orfanato.

¿Cómo se pagan los tejedores para su trabajo?

En Colombia no se permiten trabajar por dinero los tejedores menos de 18 años de edad. Una mitad del precio de venta para sus artículos tejidos va a FOCO para comprar más máquinas y para suportar el programa. Se deposita la otra mitad en una cuenta bancaria para el tejedor hasta que cumpla 18 años de edad. También reciben 10% de sus ingresos como dinero suelto.

¿Es su organización sin ánimo de lucro en los EE. UU.?

Sí. Los Friends of Colombian Orphans es una organización de caridad con una exención de impuestos según el Código de Servicios de Impuestos Internos (I.R.S., siglas en inglés) de los EE.UU. 501[c][3]. Hay un enlace a una carta de aprobación del I.R.S. en nuestra página de DONACIONES.

¿Es su organización sin ánimo de lucro en Colombia.?

Sí. Funcionamos en Colombia como Fundación Juventud Colombiano en Riesgo (Youth at Risk, en inglés).  Somos una organización humanitaria autorizada en Colombia.

¿Cuándo puedo comprar ropa de niños?

Nuestros tejedores todavía están trabajando en muestras. Esperamos tener ropa de niño para vender antes de abril de este año.

¿Cómo puedo ayudar?

¿Sabe Ud. de un local de venta al público en su parte del mundo que pueda ofrecer nuestra ropa? ¡Díganos!

¿Puedo recibir gift aid (ayuda de regalo en español) si vivo en el R.U.?

Sí. Si es un contribuyente en el R.U. y selecciona el R.U. cómo lugar en la página de

Friends of Colombian Orphans Inc. is a grassroots, nonprofit charity dedicated to improving the well-being of young Colombians who are living in poverty. Established in 2007 by U.S. parents who adopted Colombian children, the organization focuses on vocational and entrepreneurial training for teens and young women.

• $900 pays for a refurbished, professional knitting machine
• $300 pays for a month of knitting instruction.
• $150 pays for a month’s worth of yarn
• Any size donation is gratefully accepted!

Why not donate in honor of someone special? Let us know whom you are honoring: we will send a THANK YOU card to your special person.

If you prefer snail mail, the address is:

Friends of Colombian Orphans

PO Box 5065

Austin, Tx. 78763 USA

Download 501 c 3

We have five students currently in our knitting class. (Our photo also includes daughter Nataly, who wants to learn how to machine knit.)  The girls are all between the ages of 15 and 17. They show up every afternoon after school and knit from 2 to 5 pm. One young lady wants a career in fashion design. We hope that this will be a good start for her. Resume-building for kids who had few options before the start of this program. Help us keep this going!

Hope you like the banner behind the girls. It sums up what Friends of Colombian Orphans is all about: empowerment for youth at risk.

Translation for the video:

“Good afternoon, my name is Dora Emilia Diaz, the instructor for the knitting program here in Colombia. Currently we have 5 girls well advanced in the program. They are focusing on baby lines of clothing. This program in very important for them as a life project. Their hope for the future is to acquire advanced education in knitware design. Another alternative for their future is to become small business owners as part of the knitware production line that is a very important industry in Colombia. As business owners or members of a co-op, they will be contributing to the well being of others in our country.”

Friends of Colombian Orphans is committed to helping these young entrepreneurs by supporting Hogares Club Michin in growing a cooperative where knitters can continue to use their new found skills. Friends of Colombian Orphans provides Hogares Club Michin with knitting machines, yarn and a knitting teacher.