In 1998, Professor Bertrand was approached by officials from the national museum of Colombia, located in Bogota. The Museum Director was concerned that she did not have any objects from Africa that reflected the culture of a large part of the Colombian population. She asked for a donation, and through the Heritage Arts Foundation in New Orleans, a donation from the Bertrand collection was made. A very successful opening and exhibition followed [we will provide the electronic catalog for a hotlink]. More information is available [here].

In 2022, Bertrand was contacted by the Director of the Historic Museum of Cartagena, Colombia, regarding the possibility of a donation of objects to that museum. Using the same mechanism, over a hundred objects were delivered to Cartagena and are currently in the process of being curated for exhibition in the museum in the fall of 2022. While visiting Cartagena for another exhibition of Congolese painters, Bertrand observed some African objects in the museum and on closer inspection discovered that they were objects from his Bogota donation that had been lent to the museum in Cartagena because they did not have any African influenced objects. This example of a single donation spreading throughout the country and increasing the appreciation of the cultural traditions of Africa is a perfect demonstration of the benefit provided by the work that the Heritage Foundation has done. The following image is of the Bertrand collection in the museum in Cartagena.