On Saturday 3rd December, a 20- foot container arrived at my parents house, ready to be filled with donations of children’s clothes, shoes, toys, medical equipment and fire equipment. Thanks to the generosity of many, the children in Loma Grande and their families will benefit from receiving these donations. I have seen first hand how appreciative the people of this community are and I know they will really welcome this help.
Thank you to my mum and dad for storing all the boxes in their house for so long, to all those who kindly made donations and to friends and family who helped load the container.
It is due to arrive in Guayaquil on the 4th January 2012 and in Patate on the 9th January. Check back to see photos of the donations being given out to children and their families in Loma Grande.
Thank you again to everyone for your support and generosity.
At the end of May I set off to Ecuador to teach English to the children at the school which is supported by the Mashi Foundation, in Loma Grande. I was nervous in the few weeks up to the trip, but also excited about what lay ahead. I had never taught English to children before and I could only speak a few words of Spanish so I knew it might be a bit of a challenge.
As soon as I arrived at the school I got such a warm welcome. Everyone was waving and saying hello. The children were excited and couldn’t wait to get started with their English lessons. I was so pleased at the childrens enthusiasm and how sweet they were that my nerves started to fade. The first class went really well, the children picked everything up so quickly. Jorge is one of the trustees for the foundation who coordinates the work in Loma Grande and Patate. His daughter, Myriam, came along to translate for part of the lesson which really helped. They all loved learning the new words and also enjoyed receiving stickers as a reward for their good work. They equally enjoyed “Simon says”, which got quite competitive and they wanted to play it over and over again! I had so much fun teaching them that it didn’t feel like work at all. I just hope that they will get more opportunities to learn English as it will be really beneficial for them in the future.
I also taught English to the firemen which was also good fun, although my Spanish was limited and they had a basic level of English we managed to communicate. Although not fluent, they now know a few more key phrases!
My trip was one that will stay with me forever. I would like to thank Jorge and his family who were so welcoming and couldn’t do enough for me. They treated me like a member of their family. The firemen and Liz also went out of their way to help to make my stay an enjoyable one. I already miss Ecuador and the people that I met; it was definitely a life changing experience.
- Me and my sponsor child
Pam Davis who is head of fundraising at Cambridge University has kindly offered to give up coffee for the month of June. She is doing this as a sponsored event to raise funds for the school dinners in Loma Grande. Moved by the situation for the children in the school, Pam wanted to do something to help. $200 a month will provide a nutritional meal for the 35 children in the school each day.
Pam says ” ….Giving up coffee, though one of my daily pleasures, is a small thing when it can ensure that a child has one good meal a day. One small change for me and these kids will know they have food every day at school from September through the end of November. Help me make that possible.”
If you would like to support Pam, please go to her Virgin Money Giving page: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserPage.action?userUrl=PamelaDavis&faId=111664&isTeam=false
Equally, if you would like to do a sponsored event of your own, please get in touch with us to talk about your ideas.
The whole community came together to help install the swings, slide and seesaws. Even the children got involved, saying they would be able to play on them quicker if they helped!
Loma Grande is a very isolated community with very little other than the nursery and the school. During my latest trip, I decided to build a playground for the children of this community. They have nothing to play with other than old tyres and plastic bottles. These children are energetic, inquisitive, lively and need the opportunity to develop and play. This is the reason Mashi is now building a small playground behind the school. At the moment, the swings and slides are being made and we hope that in the next two or three weeks, the playground will be ready. Members of the community and Mashi volunteers will prepare the land, put up the 3 swings, 3 see-saws and a slide, paint them and get them ready for the children. They are unaware at the moment that this is happening so it will be a lovely surprise for them.
Thanks to the kindness and generousity of you all, we have managed to raise nearly £6000 to help pay for the chemotherapy treatment for Mateo. Both of his parents are overwhelmed by the help and are incredibly grateful to all those who donated.
Thank you very much
Race2Adventure is an opportunity to discover and explore countries while competing in short races throughout the trip. Race2Adventure came to Ecuador on March 27th of this year. Mashi was contacted by Tom Atkin, a member of the organisation who was looking for a charity they could support. Tom decided they would like to help Mashi and so asked members to bring something with them that they could then donate to the children Mashi is helping.
Sarah went to meet the group at Hotel Quito on Sunday 27th March while the group of 100 were registering for the race. The response to Tom’s request had been great and there were many bags of donations for the children, of medicines, vitamins, paper, pens and pencils, all items that were perfect for the children in Loma Grande.
Jorge, one of the trustees of the foundation and volunteer in Patate came along to Quito to meet the group and to take the donations back to Loma Grande. He was able to give out the supplies to the children and they were very gratefully received.
Mashi would like to say a very big thank you to the organisers of this event, Merritt Hopper and his team and to all those who donated.
Thanks to the Mashi Foundation, Race2Adventure was able to turn this past week into something that much more special. We were already prepared to have a tremendous week filled with culture and adventure, but when we found out about how we could help underprivileged children in Ecuador at the same time, it gave the week even more meaning. We hope our donations make the lives of the children just a little bit better.
Regards,
Merritt
It’s been busy busy busy! The nursery is progressing really well and the children are very happy there, as well as the parents.
On my last visit the whole community were very grateful for the donations made from the UK. They were particularly thankful for the clothes that were sent and the toys for the children. I hope to be able to send out some more donations later this year.
Mashi has some plans of supporting the school in Loma Grande. There are 35 children who attend the school from the ages of 6 to 12. There are 2 teachers who have 3 different levels each. The plan is to build an extra classroom and fill it with books and computers. We will also have internet connected so that children can learn to access this and develop their knowledge and skills in this area. English is also something that is very important for them to learn but there is no-one to teach them. Mashi is looking into the possibilty of funding an English teacher one day a week to teach them. The cost of the materials for the classroom will be $5000. The community will work together to build the classroom.
Recently the government has withdrawn their funding of school dinners here, so the children have a drink and a biscuit for breakfast at 7am when they start school. They have to stay in school until 3pm without anything else to eat. They then go home when parents have finished their work in the fields and will eat in the evenings.
Mashi has met with all the parents and we will work together to provide the children with a nutritional lunch. Mashi will buy the food and the mothers will take it in turns to come into the school and help prepare the food. They will work with the nursery staff and all children will eat together.
We also have plans to put in a playground for the children. There is nothing for them at the moment, they play on the roofs, or with plastic bottles in the mud. We hope to be able to put in a small playground, with 3 swings, 3 see-saws and a slide, plus put in a soft floor as at the moment it is concrete. It is likely this will be grass or bark. The cost of this will be $1000.
All of these things will make a substantial difference to the quality of life for the children and the wider community.
If you would like to help, please contact info@mashifoundation.org for more details.
Thank you
a new classroom + a playground = happy children!
I met Mateo today, a 6 year old boy who has a very aggressive form of cancer, from which he will die without treatment. Doctors have said he needs to have 7 courses of chemotherapy over the next 8 months.
Mateo and his family live in Patate, where Mashi is doing some work with the local school and in Loma Grande. His father works as a teacher at the school and earns about $350 per month. The cost of each course of chemotherapy is $2000. This is impossible for them. Mateo’s mother has had to give up her job to care for him as they spend about 15 days of the month in Quito where he receives treatment. Mateo has had two courses so far but needs another 5, which will cost the family $10,000. It is so expensive to have treatment in Ecuador and most families just can’t afford it.
I have set up a page through Mashi’s Virgin Money Giving site to try and raise some money for Mateo and his treatment.
If you feel you can help, please click on the link below. Thank you x
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/sarahclarke
Fantastic news! We have been able to raise over £5000 for Mateo and his treatment. The family are so very grateful to everyone for their support and completely overwhelmed by the response. Thank you to everyone.
Wapa-Wapa jewellery is teaming up with some of the most well known ethical producers of clothes including Emma Watson collection from People Tree and Braintree Hemp. Wapa will be providing jewellery for the catwalk as part of the Fairtrade Fashion Show taking place on the 12th March in Stamford, near Peterborough. Wapa-Wapa will be on sale that evening plus will be available in GreenCircle afterwards. You could also visit the website at www.wapa-wapa.com
Remember, it’s all for a great cause, profits are used to help fund the work of the Mashi Foundation.
