Elderly Support in Latin America

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

I hope all is well with you. To celebrate Giving Tuesday today all donations will be supplemented with a share of a $1 million fund from GlobalGiving. If you can, please donate to this page today to take advantage of this fantastic opportunity from GlobalGiving for the projects with your donation making even more impact!

All today’s donations will be part of this year’s Fly The Phoenix Appeal which will go towards our educational projects in Latin America as well as the elderly members of the community.

In a bid to neutralize the projects’ carbon footprint from day-to-day activities which 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 we, Fly The Phoenix, are planting a tree for every $15 raised.

We continue to try and support the elderly in all our communities and recently food was given out in Ecuador. All our family sustainable plans we implement in all our countries aim to generate extra income for all members of the family in particularly the elderly so they can buy extra food, clothes and medicine. In Guatemala we recently provided solar-lighting for families without electricity many of whom have elderly relatives living there. 

Many thanks for anything you can donate to this page today to take advantage of the bonus funding.

Cheers

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. By keeping the classrooms safe we are increasing the safety of the elderly population for when the children return home after school.

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.

In Ecuador 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. The Covid pandemic has proven once again that the elderly get left behind in times of strife sadly so we want to put them first and forefront for the future.

The sewing project continues to be a great success for the single mothers and parents of the scholarship students as well as some of the elderly population eager to learn new skills. The extra income they have been able to earn through the project has been crucial during these times. We plan to increase the number of sewing machines in 2022 as more able members of the elderly population are getting interested!

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

Latin America continues to struggle to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic with cases remaining stubbornly high, hospitals close to breaking point and a slow vaccine rollout delaying a return to some sort of normality. Classroom-based teaching, apart from staggered teaching in Ecuador, has not been permitted in the countries where we work since March 2020 and the students have been unable to receive virtual classes due to lack of internet or devices. Our local teachers continue to make regular visits to the communities to hand out homework and answer questions individually. Due to their parents’ lack of education or basic literacy, in most cases non-existent, these visits are the only opportunity for the students to ask questions and get feedback.

We have started a communal sustainable plan in Ecuador, 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.

The Easter Fanesca (traditional bean and potato-based soup) 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. 

The sewing business we implemented last year in Guatemala continues to be a success and we have added more single mothers over the past few months, including mothers of the recipients of our scholarships. We even have some elderly members of the community keen to learn new techniques to be able to generate their own income.

As we implement more sustainable income plans over the coming months, a percentage will be going towards the elderly for emergency supplies.

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!

Thanks again for all your support and all the best for the second half of 2021

Cheers

Links:

• Corporate Social Responsibility

I hope all is well. The Covid-19 pandemic still rages in Latin America though vaccination programmes are beginning to be rolled out with front-line health workers slated to be the first recipients. Many restrictions are still in place and full-time classroom-based teaching is still some way off. 

During 2021 we will continue to monitor the situation with the elderly in the communities as they are the most at risk in the current pandemic. Last year we provided food drops and facemasks and this year we will be setting up family sustainable plans which will generate extra income for the elderly for medicines and doctors' visits. In Guatemala part of the proceeds of the sewing project will be saved for a doctor to make regular visits to the elderly population in the community in their houses. 

Funds permitting we will continue with the emergency food drops too when necessary to supply the basics whilst shortages and travel restrictions remain. 

This week – Monday 8^th to Friday 12^th March - GlobalGiving are 50% matching all small individual donations from $10 to $50 as part of their Little By Little Campaign. We want to take this opportunity to add one of each of all our sustainable plans with your 50% matched donation going towards the total cost of setting up each plan. These plans will then provide sustainable income for the local families and the schools well into the future. 

Many of you were extremely generous in the recent Appeal so we understand if this isn't possible right now though if you do have some spare change rattling around please do donate to this page to help us take full advantage of this fantastic matching campaign.  

Please note, the matching will only be applied once per person though feel free to share this with friends, family and work colleagues and club together to fund your own plan. 

The amounts shown below are the total costs of each plan to give you an idea of how your 50% matched donation plays a vital part. For example it could be used for seeds or piping in Plan Huerto (vegetable gardens – the total cost is $200 with rain-capture irrigation and poly-tunnels); chicks or feed for Plan Pollo (chickens - $200 including coop and feed); gas or hobs for an industrial stove in Plan Negocio (cottage industries from $250); needles, thread and materials in Plan Costura (sewing machines - $250); a hoof or leg in Plan Moo (milking cows – from $500 for each young cow); a male & female starter pack in Plan Cuy (guinea pigs - $600 including house) or hundreds of fry for Plan Tilapia (fish farms - $800 including pools and feed). 

Despite Covid restrictions being lifted slowly this year the thought of international travel is still far from many people's plans though when that itch demands to be scratched it would be brilliant if you could join our Charity Challenges in Perú and Ecuador in 2022.

The dates for the Inca Trail in Perú are Saturday 21st to Saturday 28th May with the itinerary for Ecuador still to be confirmed. There is still plenty of time to decide though feel free to get in touch on info@thephoenixprojects.org

Thank you all for your amazing support as ever and have a great March.

Cheers

Links:

• Sustainable Income Plans
• Charity Challenges Peru and Ecuador 2022