Honored for charity work

South Laguna resident Margarita Martin has been nominated for the Woman of the Year Award in her native Colombia.

Martin was honored for developing the first after-school boys and girls club in Neiva, Colombia, and two computer technology classrooms at the Reynaldo Matiz School last year.

“It has made a community life change,” Martin said. “Obviously, I appreciate this great honor, but more importantly I am proud to serve and give thanks to the many Rotarians who have participated in the development of this project.

“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.

With all the billion of dollars that governments are spending on eliminating the drug cartels, the cost of education is being ignored, she said.

The foundation is headquartered in Laguna, Martin’s home since 1987, when she was a college exchange student, living in the home of the late camera shop owner Bill Thomas, until she went out on her own.

She interned at the Festival of Arts in the early 1990s and earned an associate of arts degree at Orange Coast College. She completed her education at Cal State Fullerton with a degree in communications and a minor in business.

She has returned to Colombia only for visits.

Martin works as a Realtor in addition to her philanthropies.

She said she was drafted by the Laguna Beach Rotary and has many friends in that club, but decided to join the Monarch Beach group.

Martin is also an honorary member of Orange County Roosters, which provide holiday meals for 5,000 families.

She and her husband, Dale, have no children.

“I have 65 children,” she said, referring to the Colombian children her foundation serves.

For additional information about the foundation, contact Martin at (949) 499-6058 or via e-mail at [email protected].