Miles walked to help Colombian children

Children Change Colombia (CCC), the largest UK-based charity working exclusively for this Latin American country, is holding its annual Thames Walk on 16 May to raise funds and awareness for its cause.

Pablo Muñoz

The event aims to raise £7,000 through ticket donations and participants can choose between a 10-mile or a 4.5-mile route. The organisers say that the funds raised will go directly to CCC’s projects and partners working in Colombia.

The walk will start in the morning at 10 am at Richmond Station and finish at Richmond Park in the afternoon, around 2 pm, where a picnic featuring Colombian snacks – such as Colombian coffee and empanadas offered in previous years – is planned for the community as a thank-you for their fundraising efforts.

According to CCC, the walk is an opportunity “to meet new people who share your passion for Colombia, try some delicious empanadas and coffee, and to practice your Spanish or English, or both.”

Founded in 1991, CCC works with local grassroots groups in Colombia to protect children’s rights around issues the state often ignores, like child recruitment by militias. It also funds and helps develop successful strategies for Colombian charities such as Fundación el Origen, which focuses on education and ecological sustainability; Fundación Tiempo de Juego, which uses sports to transform communities; and Fundación CRAN, which strives to contribute to children’s development in loving home and community environments.

With over 35 years of experience, CCC has supported more than 89,000 children through initiatives tackling critical issues.

The organisation is actively managing several projects in Colombia today, including Football for Peace in Tumaco, which uses sports to protect girls and young women from sexual exploitation; the STEAM Lab, an initiative providing rural children in Magdalena with access to science, technology, and the arts; and the Catatumbo Emergency Response, which focuses on humanitarian aid for children and families affected by armed conflict in Eastern Colombia.