Elderly Support in Latin America

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.

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.

During the year we have undertaken various community studies to see the situation in the communities, especially for the elderly population. Funds permitting we provide food for them though it is generally agreed that the more we can implement sustainable income plans for the families which generate a reglar income the better. The elderly can then purchase the products they need.

We also want to expand the sewing project in Guatemala to include the elderly (who can make it to the base) so they can sell their products in the local markets for extra income - sustainability. 

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    

One of the best ways we can support the elderly in the communities where we work is the make sure their grandchildren have access to quality education so that in the future they can secure employment and help their grandparents in any way they can. We are continuing to provide this education and have already seen many of our former students gain employment and help out at home with extra costs.

Whilst there are still years to go for many of our students to gain employment and help out this way, we are putting in place sustainable plans to provide daily food for many elderly in the community and when we can, celebrate with them so they can at least eat a sturdy meal now and then! In Perú we are celebrating our first harvest of the large scale vegetable garden which will provide daily vegetables not only for the children though also for the aged generation. In Ecuador we are resuming Plan Moo, the purchase of cows, which will provide regular income for the family home, including the elderly, with the sale of milk. 

This year The Phoenix Projects are celebrating twenty years in Latin America and thanks to you around five thousand children, teenagers and adults have been able to receive a quality education during this time in Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Perú and previously in Brazil, Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

We have built schools, extra classrooms, kitchens and energy efficient stoves, provided employment for dozens of local people, planted hundreds of thousands of trees, distributed educational materials, daily meals and hundreds of tonnes of fruit and implemented sustainable income plans on an average annual budget of around $100,000/£85,000.

Additionally, over three hundred families have benefitted from the implementation of sustainable income plans including cows, chickens, weaving, vegetables and small businesses.

To celebrate our 20^th Anniversary we are launching this year’s Appeal today and all donations up to $50/£40 through this page will be matched at 50% by GlobalGiving between Monday 12th September - today - until Friday 16^th September. Larger donations can of course be made although the matching will only apply to the first $50/£40 and only once per individual donor.

We still have so much more we want to do over the coming years with the experience we have gained, including replicating the projects in other communities with sustainable plans covering running costs from the start.

Your continued support in helping to fund local teachers’ salaries and scholarships, school materials, food and sustainable income plans is as important now as it has been in the last twenty years.

We realise that times are uncertain though anything you can donate to the Appeal through this page this week to take advantage of the 50% matching will help us start the next twenty years in the best possible way!

Thank you so much in advance.    

With normal classes back up and running after more than two years in Perú we recently had a great visit from fifty students and five teachers from Impington Village College, Cambridge, UK and thanks to their brilliant fundraising through GlobalGiving we were able to start our first sustainable irrigated vegetable garden which will provide food for the children and local families, including the elderly, over the coming years. For the first time since 2019 we were able to celebrate Mother’s Day and Day of the Child in May with plenty of dance and food and this time we invited the grandparents to watch their grandchildren perform which was great to see. The first Charity Challenge since 2019 was also undertaken with the Inca Trail conquered in late May – the dates are already set for 2023!  

Over the coming months in Ecuador we plan to invest in more sustainable plans including Plan Moo and Plan Cuy to help to generate income for the schools and the families, in particularly the elderly; something critical in this time of rising living costs. 

In Honduras work was also conducted on the sustainable income plans with smaller versions being started in the communities so the families can grow their own vegetables and generate income which will be of paramount help for the elderly generation. With the global situation causing excessive increases in day-to-day basic living costs these plans will help the families ride the current storm now and into the future. We have seen other local organisations implement our sustainable plan ideas which is a great thing as our funding can only go a small way. By educating other organisations to do the same thing we are all fighting for the same cause which is sustainable education and income for all the families.

We also plan to build a new sewing centre in Guatemala as many of the elderly generation have shown interest in learning new skills which they can put to good use! Whilst there is demand, donations permitting, we will aspire to do all we can do to help the local families generate their own income.

For all our donors who live in Ireland, Wales and England we are arranging some individual day fundraising hikes and events in September including Dublin on 17th, Kinsale on 19th, Anglesey on 22nd, Chester on 24^th and The Peak District on 26th. If you happen to be in the area and want to join us please do get in touch by replying to this email or heading to the website link at the bottom of this page. As we strive to regain our momentum and funding post-pandemic, fundraising events play such a key role so if you have any in mind, no matter how small or big, please do let us know and thank you so much.

We already have the dates for our major charity challenges in 2023 including The Lost City challenge in Colombia between 6-13^th May and the Inca Trail in Perú between 8-15^th July. If you are interested in either please do get in touch by replying to this email or following the 2023 Charity Challenges link at the bottom of the page.

Thank you all for your continued brilliant support, without which our work would be impossible. We realise the current cost of living crisis has added to the hardships of the past couple of years so everything you can continue to do to support our work is very much appreciated – thank you!

Cheers

Links:

• UK and Ireland September fundraising hikes
• Colombia and Peru Charity Challenges 2023

I hope all is well with you. To give us a huge boost this week (Monday 4^th to Friday 8^th April) GlobalGiving will be 50% matching all individual donations to this page of up to $50 which is a fantastic opportunity for the projects as we aim to recover from the past two years and build towards a better sustainable future. If you can it would be fantastic if you could donate this week and your donation will go even further.

With 2022 now three months old it is already very different to the previous two years with all the students back in the classroom finally. We are aiming to maintain all the classrooms secure for daily teaching with cleaning products available with the health of their elderly relatives our utmost priority. Looking ahead donations permitting, whilst continuing to cover our daily costs of the projects, we aim to make a concerted effort to implement family sustainable income plans with small enterprises over the coming months. These plans are devised with the elderly in mind so they can purchase much needed medicines and food.

Whilst this programme is dedicated to purchasing supplies for the elderly, our other programmes provide education and sustainable plans for their grandchildren with the hope in the future the ability to gain employment will help their elderly relatives as well.

Thanks to your continued support we have managed to keep the projects going through these hard times and once again, with your donations, we hope to be in a position to move forwards with confidence – thank you! 

All the best for April and thank you in advance for your continued support.

Cheers

As 2021 draws to a close we would like to thank first and foremost all our local teachers for continuing to teach the students to the best of their ability with the resources available, whether this was in limited classroom-based environments or heading out to their homes when they could to give out and collect homework and set topics in the students’ textbooks. By educatng the younger generation they themselves can support their elderly relatives in the future. Thank you also to everyone who has supported the projects this year in what has once again been a very difficult time all round.

We celebrated Christmas in Ecuador and invited all members of the four communities from the youngest to the oldest for food and dance which was appreciated by all - in stark contrast to last year. We will continue to help the elderly during 2022 when needs arrise in all our countries. This year we managed to distribute food and helped with solar lighting for those without electricity. There is more to be done and the implentation in sustainable income plans will provide extra money for medicines for the elderly.

Thank you all once again for your continued support and all the best for 2022.

cheers