“Also for supporting the vision that more education develop more opportunities and enrich the lives of those that received them.”
The Colombian Department of Education nominated Martin for the award for her dedication and hard work.
Women considered for this award must meet the certain criteria, including treating people as they would their own children and planting the seeds of commitment.
Martin is a member of the Monarch Beach Sunrise Rotary Club, which participated with the clubs of Laguna Niguel and San Juan Capistrano, and Neiva in an international matching grant for the project.
“I also want to give grateful thanks to Bleu Cotton for doing international goodwill,” Martin said.
Martin traveled with Bleu Cotton, a professional photographer, on this project.
The computer classes had been in the planning stage for three years, but even before that Martin was actively helping to bring a brighter future to the children in Colombia.
In 2000, she founded the Colombo-American Education Foundation, which raises fund for children’s education.
“We provide money for clothes, shoes and books for children and for one year at school for 65 children,” Martin said.
Martin said her foundation plays an important role in fighting drug use and poverty through education.
At the front door of the computer lab is a marble plaque dedicated to “The Lost Children of Colombia Killed by Violence.”
It is the credo of the foundation, which is a tax-exempt charity, that the future of Colombia’s children and their communities can be secured by education and the fight against corruption and drugs.
Without a solid education of reading, writing and math skills, the streets of any town in Colombia will become a business opportunity of drugs for a child. It is unfortunate, Martin said, but the reality is that without the help of the most influential citizens of the world, the children of Colombia will fail.
