A Colombian entrepreneur is recognized for her tireless work supporting teenage mothers and children in the country with a nomination for “hero of the year” award in the United States.
Colombian heroine Catalina Escobar leads the Juan Felipe Gomez Escobar Foundation which aims to reduce child mortality in northern Colombia.
The successful businesswoman sold her international trading company in 2000 and dedicated herself to helping Cartagena‘s most impoverished children and their young mothers.
In the last 10 years her Juan Felipe Gomez Escobar Foundation — named for her late son — has brought health care to tens of thousands of children in the Colombian city and provided more than 2,000 teenage mothers with counseling, education and job training.
Escobar, who is among 10 other nominees for the award led by major U.S. television station CNN, was understandably delighted with the nomination.
“We are happy because this will help strengthen the work of the foundation, as there is no more effective means than CNN to notice us globally,” she said.
You can vote for the Colombian heroine by accessing CNNHeroes.com until November 28, 2012.