Education for children in Ecuador

I hope all is well with you. The Covid-19 pandemic continues to cause major problems in Latin America though the rollout of national vaccination programmes are giving some hope for the future “new normal”, albeit slowly. Our local teachers, who have all now been vaccinated, have continued to maintain the education of our students by travelling to the communities to hand out homework and answer any questions. Online teaching is not an option due to lack of internet and devices. Some staggered classroom teaching, with all the protocols in place, has been possible in some countries though normal classroom-based teaching for all is still months away.

This week’s Little By Little bonus donation campaign gives us a brilliant opportunity to build a foundation to work from as we look ahead to the final months of 2021 and into 2022. GlobalGiving will match each donation up to $50 by 50% from Monday 13^th to Friday 17^th September. It would be fantastic once again to rely on your support this week with whatever you are able to donate to this page.

Thanks to your donations during this time we have been able to keep everything going on a shoestring budget, including buying all the necessary biosecure products to maintain safety, though there has been so much we have wanted to do which has had to be put on hold. Restrictions due to Covid-19 have forced the cancellation of usual fundraising events including our charity challenges over the past nineteen months and the economic outlook remains uncertain.

The new school year got underway this month in Ecuador with staggered meetings with the parents explaining the protocol for the next few months. Different classes will be held on alternate days to reduce the number of students in the school on any given day. We purchased new supplies of hygiene and biosecure products to make sure the classrooms are as safe as possible.

Thanks to your donations we have been able to retain all our seven local Phoenix teachers, including three who we help with their University costs, so all classes now have a teacher.

Work and investment has continued with implementing sustainable income plans, including our Plan Chancho, Plan Pollo, Plan Cuy and Plan Huerto which aim to generate regular income specifically for the elderly population so they can buy medicines and extra supplies. Over the next year we plan to increase the herd in Plan Moo as well.

We will use all funds raised this week during the Little By Little Campaign to go towards our local Phoenix teachers, internet for the school, biosecure products for the classrooms and further investment in our sustainable plans.

Whilst the main priority is obviously keeping our current local teachers and the education of the children, once more funding becomes available we want to increase the number of local teachers, undertake maintenance, restock the classrooms and invest in more family sustainable income plans for the future which is even more critical during these times. The sustainable plans will provide extra income for the families to buy essential food and medicines as well as helping to fund the schools in the future.

We will also be planting a tree for every $10 raised during this week to help reduce the carbon footprint of the day-to-day activities of the projects. These include boat travel for the students in Guatemala, pickup transport for the students in Honduras and teachers’ transport up into the mountains in Ecuador and desert in Perú.

Many thanks for anything you can donate this week to the Little By Little Campaign. It is such a fantastic opportunity for us to be able to get back on track after these past eighteen months and build a solid platform for the years ahead.

Also, if you are thinking of doing something different in 2022 please do follow the link in this report to our Charity Challenges in Perú and Ecuador in May and June taking in the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu in Perú and volcanos in Ecuador – you can do either or both!

Have a great month and thank you all once again.

Cheers

Links:

• Charity Challenges Peru and Ecuador 2022

The school year draws to a close this month with all the children graduating despite limited classroom teaching coupled with teachers’ visits to the children’s homes in the four rural communities where they live. Due to their parents’ own literacy capabilities being extremely limited these visits and staggered classroom time are their only opportunity to ask questions.

The Ministry of Health had visited the school and given the official green light for classes to be delivered in-person in March a couple of days a week thanks to all the protocols we had and continue to put in place. Previously the parents had given their consent for classrooms to be open on a staggered basis.

The Easter Fanesca (traditional bean and potato-based soup) and Day of the Child was somewhat different this year due to bans on communal meetings. We purchased the ingredients so the Fanesca could be made in the school by our local teachers and some mothers which was then taken back home in pots so the families could enjoy it together with their elderly relatives. To celebrate Day of the Child we brought cake for the children to eat at home as well.

With classes being held sporadically and with different grades per day due to Covid restrictions we took advantage of the “empty” school to do some maintenance, including a new paint-job.

We also started a communal sustainable plan, involving chickens, guinea pigs and chanchos (pigs) which will provide regular income for emergency supplies over the coming months, particularly for the elderly and vulnerable. We will be making substantial investment in more sustainable plans for the families this year and into 2022.

This year’s GlobalGiving Bonus Day will be celebrated is on 14th July where donations between $100 and $1,000 will be matched at varying levels whilst funds remain from 9am Eastern Time. The following matching structure will apply:

Donations of $100 - $499 will be matched at 15%

Donations of $500 - $749 will be matched at 30%

Donations of $750 - $1,000 will be matched at 50%

With fundraising events having been put on hold for the past year and half this is a fantastic way to help us raise the extra funds we need to keep the projects and education going in all our countries. If you can, please do donate early from 9am ET on 14^th July to take advantage of the matching bonusses as the extra funds tend to go quite quickly and thank you so much in advance!

We are also looking for partnerships with businesses as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility programs as we look to implement more sustainable income plans in all our communities over the coming years. If you know of a company looking to expand their own CSR program and wanting to support projects in Latin America, please do email me on info@thephoenixprojects.org By using the tax benefits for all US taxpaying companies by donating through GlobalGiving it is a CSR program which is beneficial to all parties, especially if the donation is made on the July 14^th Bonus Day!

Thank you all so much for your continued support and all the best for the second half of 2021!

cheers

Links:

• Corporate Social Responsibility