About Us
Friends of FANA Minnesota
Friends of FANA Minnesota, is a non-profit organization established in 1986 to provide social and cultural networking opportunities for families who wish to adopt, or who had already adopted a child from the FANA orphanage in Bogotá, Colombia.
Our mission quickly grew to include financially supporting FANA, and over a bit of time, our social networking naturally grew to include persons adopted from FANA, and their extended families. We are an all-volunteer organization comprised of families who are in some way connected to process of completing an adoption through FANA.
There are now over 400 families in the upper Midwest who have adopted children from FANA.
Our Mission
• To provide support for families wishing to share the adoption experience
• To offer stability and social support for our children
• To provide financial support to the FANA orphanage.
FOUNDATION FOR THE ASSISTANCE OF ABANDONED CHILDREN - FANA
The Fundación para la Asistencia de la Niñez Abandonada (FANA) orphanage is located in Bogotá, Colombia. The FANA orphanage was founded in 1972 by Mercedes Rosario Pineda de Martinez.
Colombia is a beautiful country that has suffered economic and social strife, and Ms. Martinez recognized that many Colombian children needed secure and loving homes. Herself an adoptive mother, Ms. Martinez began by taking homeless children into her own home. From those humble beginnings, many miracles were born.
More than 10,000 children have been placed by FANA into caring adoptive homes in Colombia and over 25 other countries. Countless other children have found temporary shelter, care and education at FANA while their birth families work through difficult times, and FANA provides day programs for local children as well.
FANA Around the World
The various Friends of FANA groups in Colombia and throughout the world are an essential part of the extended FANA family. Friends of FANA groups have been formed by those with intimate connections to adoption from FANA, and have provided FANA with unconditional support for many years. The Friends of FANA groups each organize in the way that best fits their area in order to establish community links and to assist in the adoption process for new families.
FANA around the world:
Friends of FANA Australia
Friends of FANA France