{"id":11020,"date":"2017-05-24T12:37:02","date_gmt":"2017-05-24T10:37:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fundacionmicrofinanzasbbva.org\/en\/mas-emprendimiento-refugio-ninos-sin-recursos\/"},"modified":"2019-12-04T13:14:28","modified_gmt":"2019-12-04T12:14:28","slug":"mas-emprendimiento-refugio-ninos-sin-recursos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fundacionmicrofinanzasbbva.org\/en\/mas-emprendimiento-refugio-ninos-sin-recursos\/","title":{"rendered":"Not just a business, this is a refuge for underprivileged children"},"content":{"rendered":"

Norma lives in Soacha, a town 20 kms. from Bogota, one of the most marginal areas in the country and one that has received the highest number of displaced victims of the Colombian conflict. 16 years ago she opened a playschool in her own home. She started with a small group of children and now she looks after around 50 infants, who are between two and five years old. This playschool is a refuge for these tiny tots, many of whom are victims of the armed conflict in Colombia, members of one-parent families or orphans in the process of being adopted.<\/strong> They spend most of the day there: they have breakfast, lunch, they learn to read and to enjoy a normal childhood. For many of these children, this is a basic right that is difficult to experience.<\/p>\n

Poverty, an unsafe environment and violence are the scourges of this town, where the United Nations runs a large number of development projects. But Norma decided to challenge the lack of opportunities and to start up something that goes beyond a mere business. The microloans she has received from Bancam\u00eda have enabled her to employ five people in the playschool and to enlarge her house<\/strong>, which now has enough space for these children to feel at home.<\/p>\n

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