The force of love

It seeks to improve life expectancy and reduce infant mortality by promoting gender equity and empowering women and girls. This approach includes implementing humanized childbirth as a fundamental right and combating obstetric violence, which affects 40.4% of women in Colombia, according to a 2018 study. However, disparities in access to health services reveal inequalities between rich and poor: more than 50% of maternal deaths occur in fragile environments and in contexts of humanitarian crisis, which negatively affects child development. Globally, the high maternal mortality rate in 2020, with a target reduction to less than 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030, poses a major challenge according to the World Health Organization. In Colombia, lack of access to maternal check-ups contributes to a low breastfeeding rate, and child stunting is related to poor parenting practices in vulnerable households. The lack of safe cribs affects children from socioeconomically vulnerable families, according to UNICEF, highlighting the need to comprehensively address these problems to improve maternal and child health globally.

Based on an initial diagnosis, in which the participants are directly involved to learn about their interests and motivations with respect to the project, a work plan is drawn up with the community-based organizations or community leaders. This diagnosis also allows us during the program to go deeper into the issues of greatest need in the community, seek ways of articulation with primary health care services, identify leaders who can replicate the program in their communities and estimate the number of cradles to be delivered.

We implemented the Fruto Bendito program. The program has 6 fundamental pillars that seek to empower women to exercise their physical and economic autonomy. The pillars of the course are: Conscious Pregnancy (Maternal Health, warning signs, motivation to prenatal check-ups, basic nutrition adapted to the context, pregnancy situation and humanized childbirth), safe sleep, breastfeeding, positive parenting, family and inclusion.                                         

Before starting the workshops, pregnant women are asked to fill out a survey, which is our baseline measurement.

After two months, workshop participants receive a telephone follow-up to measure results and areas for improvement in the community. 

This information is shared with local leaders to jointly find intervention routes, especially for the most urgent cases, such as violence against women.

The project in the Municipality of Lloró, Colombia, seeks to improve life expectancy and reduce infant mortality, promoting gender equity and empowering women and girls. This is achieved by implementing a humanized childbirth approach as a fundamental right and combating obstetric violence, which affects 40.4% of women in Colombia according to a 2018 study.

However, disparities in access to health services reveal inequalities between rich and poor, with more than 50% of maternal deaths occurring in fragile settings and in contexts of humanitarian crisis, which negatively impacts child development. Globally, the high maternal mortality rate in 2020, with a target reduction to less than 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030, poses a significant challenge according to the World Health Organization.

In Colombia, lack of access to prenatal checkups contributes to a low breastfeeding rate, and child stunting is linked to poor parenting practices in vulnerable households. The lack of safe cribs affects children from socioeconomically vulnerable families, according to UNICEF, highlighting the need to address these problems in a comprehensive manner to improve maternal and child health globally.

Starting with an initial diagnosis, in which the participants are directly involve the participants, in order to learn about their interests and to learn about their interests and motivations with respect to the project, a work plan is elaborated with the community-based community-based organizations or community leaders community leaders. This diagnosis also allows us to also allows us during the program to delve deeper into issues of greatest need for the community, to look for ways to the community's greatest needs, look for ways to articulate articulation with primary health care services, identify leaders who can replicate the program in their communities and estimate the number of cribs their communities and estimate the number of cribs we should deliver we should deliver.

2. We deployed the Blessed Fruit program. The
program has 6 fundamental pillars that seek to
empower women to exercise their physical and economic autonomy and economic autonomy. The pillars of the course are: Pregnancy (Maternal health, warning signs, motivation to prenatal check-ups, basic nutrition, etc.), motivation to prenatal check-ups, basic nutrition adapted to the context and the pregnancy situation), safe sleep, breastfeeding, positive breastfeeding, positive parenting, family and inclusion.

3. Before the start of the workshops, pregnant women must fill out a survey. Before the workshops begin, pregnant women must fill out a survey, which is our baseline for measurement.
our baseline for measurement.
4. After two months, a telephone follow-up is conducted with the workshop participants to measure the results and areas of improvement in the workshop.
and areas for improvement in the community.

5. This information is socialized with local leaders in order to jointly find to find together routes of intervention, especially for the most urgent cases, such as physical for example, those of physical violence, toxic stress or life-threatening situations that endanger the lives of women or their babies or their babies.

We manufacture cradles in corrugated cardboard suitable for babies with the following characteristics. Our cradles offer the possibility that all children, regardless of the economic conditions in which they are born, have a minimum welfare environment at birth and during their first days of life.

- Certified cardboard (high quality)
- Environmentally friendly
- Organic inks
- Abrasion resistant
We are part of the study conducted by the University of Tampere and Helda Helsinki on the implementation of the Baby box around the world. The only Latin American project under study.

In Fruto Bendito Foundation we look for both tangible and intangible results that generate real value. We have developed numerous projects that are proof that we have the capacity to manage and make the presented project a reality. The foundation has impacted more than 9,800 families benefited by the projects, among which 8,500 cradles have been delivered. This translates into a territorial impact in more than 41 Colombian municipalities and cities.

Directly related to the project presented, we have empowered more than 10,000 women around breastfeeding and another 8,300 families educated in safe sleep

The purpose of the Fruto Bendito Foundation is to contribute to breaking the cycle of poverty from the womb, promoting equity to achieve gender equality.

It is unacceptable that many pregnant women, the most vulnerable, not only lose their lives due to lack of access to maternal health services, but also face the loss of their physical and economic autonomy after the birth of their children, contributing to the increase of gender-based violence and perpetuating discriminatory patriarchal patterns, such as those where women are solely responsible for the physical and emotional health of children. 

Fundación Fruto Bendito's mandate is to break the cycle of poverty starting in the womb, promoting conditions of equity to achieve gender equality, defending the physical and economic autonomy of women and promoting minimum welfare environments for all children during their first 1,000 days of life.

The foundation was born when its founder had her first child, who had to be hospitalized in a clinic for 11 days. In this situation, she met women who had no access to prenatal check-ups, maternal prenatal care or maternal education. Faced with the task of becoming mothers, many adolescent girls, without the minimum tools, became more vulnerable to sexual and gender-based violence. After several investigations, Camila found a model in Finland, that model in Finland, which provided a crib to all children in the country, regardless of their status, regardless of their economic status, so that all children could be born in the same equitable and improve their environment, especially in their first days of life, especially in their first days of life. Camila presented this model in Colombia with the support of Smurfit Kappa, Camila has managed to develop a cradle made of ecological cardboard and decorated with ecological inks. After introducing the model, Camila the model, Camila realized that the cardboard crib was not enough to help these women and hired Dr. Julieta Villegas Dr. Julieta Villegas to develop a maternal health program to prevent maternal health program that prevented maternal deaths and strengthened their decision-making power over their bodies, voices and minds. More than 9,800 families impacted, more than 10,000 women empowered in breastfeeding more than 49,500 hours of education in maternal health and conscious pregnancy education in maternal health and conscious pregnancy, 41 municipalities in municipalities in Colombia, 3 universities allied for research and development, 8,500 cradles delivered and two companies for inclusive employment generation companies.

After several investigations, Camila found a model in Finland, which provided a cradle model in Finland, which provided a crib to all children in the country, regardless of their children in the country, regardless of their economic status in order to enable all children to be born in the same equitable and improve their environment, especially their first days of life, especially in their first days of life. Camila introduced this model in Colombia with the support of Smurfit Kappa, Camila has succeeded in developing a cradle made of ecological cardboard, and decorated with ecological inks. After introducing the model, Camila realized that the cardboard cradle was not enough to help cardboard crib was not enough to help these women and hired Dr. Julieta Villegas to develop a maternal health program to prevent maternal health program that prevented maternal deaths and strengthened their their body, their voice and their mind.

The Fruto Bendito Foundation is an organization that since 2016 was born to protect early childhood by providing them with security and working articulated with their families and / or caregivers to coconstruct welfare environments.

We were born in 2016 with our first intervention project called Cunas Con amor, in conjunction with Dr. Julieta Villegas Rosales, a medical scientist, we developed Plan Bendito, to protect early childhood through education and accompaniment of their families and/or caregivers.
We want to raise awareness about the responsibility of bringing a baby into the world. Emotional, emotional and family.
We deliver our cradles, provide the Blessed Education Plan and create alliances to provide accompaniment and opportunities.
Each donor, each crib buyer, allows us medium and long term sustainability.

The foundation aims to make itself known through campaigns carried out by health entities and/or its own events. Financially we are looking for companies that want to contribute through donations to the foundation. On the other hand, individuals who also want to make donations. To date, the foundation has received different recognitions for the impact it has achieved.  
Woman cafam 2022
It has made visible the power of Colombian women who seek to improve the quality of life of the most vulnerable communities in the country.
Link: https://premiomujer.cafam.com....

Green Awards 2022
https://premiosverdes.org/es/g...

Fellowship Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative - YLAI
Program
https://www.linkedin.com/posts...
6287422037286912-7QyO/?trk=public_profile_like_view&origi
nalSubdomain=co

Constructive Activists
Camila Cooper, part of the Constructive Activists initiative
initiative
https://activistasconstructivo...