Food & fruit for primary schools in Latin America

I hope all is well with you. From Monday 3rd until the end of Friday 7^th April, GlobalGiving will be matching the first $50 of all individual donations to this page by 50% which is a fantastic opportunity for the projects, the children and members of the communities where we work. Thank you so much in advance for anything you can donate this week helping us continue our work in Latin America with the additional bonus of the matching!

You may have seen mention in the past of the week-long Charity Challenges that Fly The Phoenix undertake each year to raise funds for the projects and have thought about getting involved. This year we will be taking on the Lost City Charity Challenge in Colombia in May and the Inca Trail in Perú in July and it would be great to have you on the team if you are interested. For information on the challenges please follow the link below.

Daily meals are now cooked on the new stove we purchased in 2022 in Ecuador using the limited ingredients provided by the government each month or so. One of our plans this year is to put in place a large school vegetable garden which will provide regular vegetables for both consumption and for sale to be able to buy other ingredients that can’t be grown in the mountains. As is custom, Pawkar Raymi was recently celebrated, asking Pachamama (Mother Earth) for a good harvest, made more pertinent this year with the current abnormal climate.

The school vegetable garden in Perú is ready for its third harvest which will provide daily food for the children this year. We plan to increase the size later in the year. We continue to provide daily fruit for the children as well as supplying gas for the stove.

We have several large community celebrations coming up where we will supplying the food for all the children. With the sustainable plans that we hope to implement this year there will be more regular food for all the children which has always been our aim. 

Have a great April and if you can donate to this page this week to receive the 50% matching on the first $50 it would be fantastic and thank you in advance. Also if you are interested in getting involved in the charity challenges, please do get in touch through the link below.

Cheers

Links:

• Colombia and Peru Charity Challenges 2023

I hope all is well with you. As 2022, our 20^th Anniversary, draws to a close it is worth reflecting on what has been a year of rebuilding after the pandemic with full classrooms and sharing with you our plans for 2023 and the years ahead.

Access to full-time education from primary school to university will always be our number one priority though we are also aware that in times of hardship, employment opportunities are scarce even with an education. The pandemic, the effects of climate change which for years have been plain to see where we work and the current cost of living crisis are prime examples of these additional real-life obstacles facing our communities who already live with extreme difficulties.

The implementation of sustainable family and community income plans is key to ensuring independent economic stability no matter how the macro environment is faring and, after education, will be a priority for our work over the coming years. As many of the plans are agriculture-based then this can provide sustainable food for the children and families. The other plans are product-based from which income can be used to buy food.

We have learned so much over the past twenty years in Latin America, the highs and the lows and we plan to use this extensive knowledge we have garnered to benefit not only the communities where we currently work though also to implement new projects in other communities. The goal is the same wherever: sustainable full education and economic security.

Looking forward to 2023 in Guatemala we plan to expand Plan Costura, our sewing business for single mothers. As all proceeds are shared between the mothers, they are able to provide for their children, especially with food and materials for primary school.

Full classes were held throughout the year for children from four rural Andean communities in Ecuador and we were able to celebrate full cultural celebrations with food for the first time since the pandemic including Pawkar Raymi (asking Pachamama – Mother Earth – for a good harvest), Fanesca over Easter, Mother’s Day, graduate trips in July, colada morada for Day of the Dead and of course, Christmas!

We were also able to restart the implementation of Plan Moo whereby we buy milking cows which are looked after by local families and the income generated by milk and future calves’ milk is shared between them and the school’s costs. Also there is daily milk for family consumption.

With restrictions being lifted in Perú due to the pandemic we were able to celebrate Mother’s Day as well as other cultural celebrations with food. Our plans for 2023 include expanding Plan Huerto to increase the school meals and help the local families. 

Thank you so much to you all for helping us get this far and we hope you will continue to support our work for years to come as we face the known and unknown issues facing Latin American communities now and in the future.

Have a fantastic 2023 and thank you all once again.

Cheers