For phunt37.....and others
Phunt, I'd like to thank you for your indepth letter--although not totally correct--I shall accept your constructive criticism. I'd like recount a small anecdote that doesn't really relate to life in Ecuador as such, but does somewhat relate to life. We have 4 dogs up on our mountain and an 'adopted' 5th one who comes to visit and play and run with the pack. They all get along very well. One of our dogs is a rather portly, extremely mellow, yellow Lab named Sara who I've never seen growl in her life. Her good buddy is "Beethoven" the visiting dog. They always lick each other's faces and always run together. One day I heard a terrible commotion and went outside and Sara was attacking Beethoven, she drew blood! Obviously, Beethoven had done something to provoke her, something that definitely irritated her--like eating her food or trying to steal her bone! Luckily, later in the day they were licking each other's faces once again, and they had obviously forgotten about their scuffle!
And, now, I would like to (shamelessly) promote the Ali Shungu Foundation--not for personal glory, but for the benefit of the Indigenous people that need it.
The Ali Shungu Foundation is a small, legal, non-profit (completely transparent) foundation that ministers to 5 of some of the poorest communities in the Otavalo area--Yambiro, Panacillo, Latacunga, San Juan Alto, and Agua Longo. It is hard to believe that only 8 years ago, these hundreds of people, just 15 min. from town, had no running water at all! Through the many generous donations over the years, of the wonderful people helping us to help these people, progress has been made. But these people need your help! If anyone can help out in any way, please contact us:
www.alishungufoundation.com
For folks coming down with empty suitcases---and that could be unheard of for folks moving here!--but more for tourists.....
These people need warm, used clothing and shoes for children of all ages, and sweaters and jackets for adults to keep warm. (No high heels though!) We need used blenders for nutritious babyfood, and any used toys, as these kids rarely see toys. We need vitamins--especially for children.
We need books of all kinds in Spanish or Spanish/English and all kinds of workbooks for the library. All kinds of school supplies are always needed! Any learning DVDs in Spanish/English as well, as the "library" has a TV and DVD and 3 computers (very generous donations by Dutch and American folks). We are working on getting internet for the school and library up there, and again, we need donations to help for that.
We always need donations for the 300-500 "Christmas Bags" that we make up every year for the kids, donations to keep the school desks and equipment in good order, and the bldgs. painted.......there are so many things--the schools are not free and even sports and "gym" uniforms cost alot nowadays here.
For a $200 donation, you can sponsor a smart but poor child in school for the year (not the total cost and we like to see parents, if they can, take a small responsibility too). Many folks sponsor a child right on through school. These are very important donations! Your sponsored child will stay in touch with you and send photos during the year.
We need Grant Writers, who are willing to volunteer their time in helping us to solicit money for sustainable, much-need community projects--such as the Angora Rabbit project--for spinning and knitting the wool for handicrafts, cheese-making projects, exotic agricultural projects, bee-honey projects, embroidery projects, etc. We would like to purchase some looms for the community and possibly open a small community store on the bottom floor of the clinic where the women can sell their hand-made products and commodities to visiting tourists.
We need donations to finish the inside of the small clinic that the Foundation and the Community have built so visiting doctors can see folks in the community when they are in the area. We need donations for an emergency medicine fund, etc.
We need folks who will be in the area for awhile who would be willing to give of their time, go up to the little school for a few hours, a few days a week, and speak to the kids in English--maybe write a few English words on the blackboard. The kids would be very receptive! and people would have alot of fun doing it and maybe pick up some Spanish too! English is the future for these poor kids who will never go beyond the 6th grade, if they are lucky. At least with English they will be able to find work in tourism or business or in helping the many "gringos" who will be living here.
And I would like to mention that anyone wanting to see a colorful 20-minute film about the building of the water system by and for these communities, look for "The Minga" on the www.otavalovideos.com site. Five indigenous communities, of all ages and gender, came together to volunteer their labor, many barefoot and carrying babies on their backs, as well as the bags of cement and the steel rebar..... over 400 Indians worked tirelessly for 5 months to finish the system. The Ali Shungu Foundation provided engineers and funds. I would like to thank Anna Taft, and her Tandana Foundation (the wonderful daughter of Ohio's ex-governor Taft) for donating a "chlorinating machine" to treat the water, and the University of Wisconsin for providing repairs on the water system a few years back.
Phunk, you sound like a very generous person, as you've spoken of your kindness in helping others, and perhaps you would like to help out the Ali Shungu Foundation with a small donation.
And since the holiday season is just right around the corner, I'd like to say MERRY CHRISTMAS to everyone out there! I hope this coming year is a PEACEFUL one for everybody!
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