The brother of a girl murdered by two men she met through Facebook has created a foundation to protect children and young people from the dangers of the Internet.
Juan Camilo Chavez created the Annacha Foundation in memory of his sister Ana Maria Chavez, a 20-year-old university student.
On Friday, the date of Ana Maria’s birthday, the family officially launched the foundation in her memory to protect other young people from becoming victims of a similar experience.
According to Chavez, the organization’s objective is to “alert and create awareness among parents, teachers, young students and children about the dangers of contacting strangers over the Internet through various portals, such as Facebook, Twitter and MSN Messenger.”
Ana Maria was murdered in September 2009 by two men who had contacted her on Facebook. After several conversations over the popular social networking site, the two men located her apartment in downtown Bogota, killed her, and stole her belongings.
After researching on the Internet, her brother Juan Camilo, discovered his sister’s killers trying to sell her belongings, and using her Facebook account to attract other victims. They were later captured by police. The foundation, which has the support of firm Microsoft, will have offices in Bogota and Villavivencio and will work to raise awareness in colleges and universities throughout Colombia.