From Earthquake to Entrepreneur...Ecuador

When we are willing to follow God dreams, he shows us the way! 

After the terrible earthquake of April 2016, we met the emerging needs of the people affected as a priority. In the short term, we were awareness that it was imperative to make a sustained work, in which it was necessary to empower and teach people different kinds of skills so they can become self-sustaining.

With that desire in our hearts, we decided to make a site inspection to some places at  Manabi province, firmly believing that this dream we had reflected on paper would become reality. At that point, we had no idea where we could build a Community Development Center, we had no land and we didn't know how to start.

Suddenly, the doors were opened and we got to know people who were leading us until in the blink of an eye, that big dream was taking shape, what we saw unattainable, was becoming reality.

It was so, on October 15th, 2016 we officially inaugurated the opening of the CDC Community Development Center in Bahia de Caraquez in the province of Manabi and it is located in an area called Leonidas Plaza where 300 poorer families live, they were highly affected by the earthquake.

At the opening we had approximately 100 adults and 50 children, the program began at 14h00 with the cutting of the ribbon where we counted with the presence of the community leader and local authorities.

The volunteer Sic Carlos Sarmiento, give a workshop called “Openness to Change” where the community was integrated working in teams of 10, creating banners and exposing their themes. It was a fun activity where we could hear what their expectations are.

While that happened inside the CDC, a group of volunteers worked on the outside with the children, teaching them to make a Christmas craft and painting their faces. After the event, we provide a snack and the community was eager to take the next workshop.

When we put our plans in God's hands, he makes them prosper!

Links:

• Fan Page

The project #WITHYOUECUADOR has being executed at Punta Blanca - on the road Jama - Pedernales, which is located approximately 1 hour from Canoa on the main highway to Pedernales. Punta Blanca is a small laid back fishing village some few kilometres on the coast.

On May 30, we have our first staff and volunteers meeting in order to do the planification for the first six months of 2016.

On June 2, we started with our first visit to the village as part of  the agenda of activities in June. We travel with a team of professional volunteers,whom were in charge to make the census population and we also make the first delivery of hygiene and food kits for 45 families.We share with them their concerns and we were able to identify needs by the given information of the families during the census. This was useful for us to raise a real information of how many women, men, children and adolescents live in Punta Blanca and also urgent needs, living conditions, diseases, among others. 

On July 6, we trained the team of volunteers with a workshop of EMOTIONAL SUPPORT, giving by Sic Sonia de Aviles. This enable volunteers to lift the spirits of the inhabitants of the village.

On July 16, we perform the field intervention carrying out the workshop and delivering new hygiene and food kits. Sic The psychologist Sonia de Aviles, was the person in charge of conducting this activity.

The workshop was successfull which responded to the call of a total of 30 residents of the community. This 28 of July we are travelling to work specifically with children and adolescents of the community, we will be teaching them how to make their own puppets, face painting, theater and a craft worshop.

All these activities respond to the love we feel for our country, this community has many needs and our duty is to mitigate the pain and to bring them love and hope. WE LOVE YOU ECUADOR!

Links:

• http://www.facebook.com/cdcgye