Ecuador Newsletter - February 2019
Pedro and Steven get ready to cycle the 15km back to Santo Domingo after coming and selling us their beautiful cards.
Firstly let me say a very belated Happy New Year, I hope 2019 has started as well for you as it has for us. Going back in time a bit, in November we finished training our second group which was made up of Steven, Alejandro, Mauro and Douglos. They then started working from home, in December we bought our first lot of cards from them and they were fantastic. We payed them a deposit for cards they were making over the Christmas break and we bought those cards last week. We're so pleased with the exceptional quality of the cards they are producing, especially as they are now collectively making over 1,600 a month and this really goes to show how well the training program is working.
Lydia and I spent Christmas in the U.K so we had our Craft Aid Christmas party at the start of December with all the trainees and their friends and family. It was a great success with lots of games, laughter and of course plenty of food. I cooked rice and chicken which, as the national dish, placed a lot of pressure on my shoulders but I am delighted to say the food was very well received as evidenced by the total lack of any leftovers after everyone had gone. We were also able to give out Christmas food hampers (see photo below) which were kindly donated by a church in the U.K.
It was a lovely time spent together made even better by the fact that Luis was able to make it. For those who don't remember Luis was on the second training course until an accident meant he needed an operation and 3 months convalescing meaning he had to stop attending the training. I'm very happy to say he is now much better and this week we visited him to set him up with all the equipment he needs to start work.
We were also joined at the party by Limba who is a young man we were introduced to in November. He is 22 and had an accident 2 years ago which has left him in a wheelchair. His partner left him with his two children so he now lives with his mother and children on the outskirts of the city. Unfortunately his home is down a steep rocky track which is impossible for him to ascend in his wheelchair or hand bike and a lot of taxis don't want to go their because of the damage the road might cause to their vehicle. This has led to him being very isolated and he has been struggling to adjust to his new way of life. We're really happy to say he will be on the next training course and he's also started to meet up with some of the other wheelchair users who can encourage him and demonstrate that whilst his injury is life changing it is not life ending, especially as he now has the training to look forward to.
Lydia and I spent Christmas in the U.K so we had our Craft Aid Christmas party at the start of December with all the trainees and their friends and family. It was a great success with lots of games, laughter and of course plenty of food. I cooked rice and chicken which, as the national dish, placed a lot of pressure on my shoulders but I am delighted to say the food was very well received as evidenced by the total lack of any leftovers after everyone had gone. We were also able to give out Christmas food hampers (see photo below) which were kindly donated by a church in the U.K.
It was a lovely time spent together made even better by the fact that Luis was able to make it. For those who don't remember Luis was on the second training course until an accident meant he needed an operation and 3 months convalescing meaning he had to stop attending the training. I'm very happy to say he is now much better and this week we visited him to set him up with all the equipment he needs to start work.
We were also joined at the party by Limba who is a young man we were introduced to in November. He is 22 and had an accident 2 years ago which has left him in a wheelchair. His partner left him with his two children so he now lives with his mother and children on the outskirts of the city. Unfortunately his home is down a steep rocky track which is impossible for him to ascend in his wheelchair or hand bike and a lot of taxis don't want to go their because of the damage the road might cause to their vehicle. This has led to him being very isolated and he has been struggling to adjust to his new way of life. We're really happy to say he will be on the next training course and he's also started to meet up with some of the other wheelchair users who can encourage him and demonstrate that whilst his injury is life changing it is not life ending, especially as he now has the training to look forward to.
The big news we have to share with you is that at the end of April, and after just over 2 years of living in Ecuador, Lydia and I will be moving back to the U.K. We are really enjoying the work we are doing here but for both of us the job was to set this project up, which thankfully we have succeeded in doing. We both felt that the long term running of this project was not something we were called to do and we decided, with the backing of Susie the head of Craft Aid, that after two years it would be the right time to return to the U.K.
When we told Susie about our intentions she began to look for our replacements as we certainly didn't want this project to stall just when it had taken off. Happily, after what felt like a short time to us, she found some so we are delighted to announce that very soon, Jess and Andy (along with their 3 year old daughter Frankie) will be coming out to Ecuador to take over from us when we leave in April. Like our arrangement Jess is the artist and will be delivering the training to the students while Andy will take care of the office side of things and their daughter!
They intend to arrive towards the end of February and will have 6 or so weeks of language training in Quito interspersed with a couple of trips down to Santo Domingo. This will give us ample opportunity to train them in everything we've been doing here and to show them all the useful places we know around the city. We're so thrilled we'll have the chance for a proper handover and that the project has every chance of continued growth under new leadership and we look forward to properly introducing you to them once they are settled here in Ecuador.
When we told Susie about our intentions she began to look for our replacements as we certainly didn't want this project to stall just when it had taken off. Happily, after what felt like a short time to us, she found some so we are delighted to announce that very soon, Jess and Andy (along with their 3 year old daughter Frankie) will be coming out to Ecuador to take over from us when we leave in April. Like our arrangement Jess is the artist and will be delivering the training to the students while Andy will take care of the office side of things and their daughter!
They intend to arrive towards the end of February and will have 6 or so weeks of language training in Quito interspersed with a couple of trips down to Santo Domingo. This will give us ample opportunity to train them in everything we've been doing here and to show them all the useful places we know around the city. We're so thrilled we'll have the chance for a proper handover and that the project has every chance of continued growth under new leadership and we look forward to properly introducing you to them once they are settled here in Ecuador.
Meeting Jess and Andy for the first time in the flesh, Frankie was sadly already in bed!
As I mentioned earlier, after 20 months in Ecuador Lydia and I flew home in December to have Christmas and New Year with family and friends back in the U.K.
We also had a trip over to Harrogate to Craft Aid HQ, it was great to see the guys in the office in the flesh rather than just through email. We also took them over 700 cards. In the evening we met Jess and Andy for the first time which was fantastic, we talked through the practicalities of life here and it was wonderful to get to know them.
We also had a trip over to Harrogate to Craft Aid HQ, it was great to see the guys in the office in the flesh rather than just through email. We also took them over 700 cards. In the evening we met Jess and Andy for the first time which was fantastic, we talked through the practicalities of life here and it was wonderful to get to know them.
So now the future. Firstly for the project, Jess and Andy have been granted their visas and will be arriving at the end of February. We will then have several weeks together to hand over the project as smoothly as possible. While this is taking place we won't be training any more new people but we will continue to purchase cards off the 8 guys we now have working at home. We will also spend some time going to cities in Ecuador where we may be able to sell the cards as growing the internal market here is a massive help to the project going forward. We will also be looking for more people to train in the next group, we already have Limba who was mentioned above so ideally we're looking for 4-5 more.
We will also be working on setting Craft Aid Ecuador up as it's own independent foundation here in Ecuador as that would make opening an Ecuadorian bank account far more possible. This means looking for people who are willing to be board members and submitting the required paperwork to the right people, a job which we're not exactly looking forward to! We'll also have to build an office in the outside space as we are currently using the spare room as our office and Frankie will need that as a bedroom.
Personally we'll be enjoying every moment of our last few months here. We've been so blessed to have travelled quite a lot around Ecuador and we only have one or two places we'd really like to see before we leave. After two years we've made some really good friends here so we'll also spend as much time with them as possible making sure we take as many photos as possible for the future.
We will also be working on setting Craft Aid Ecuador up as it's own independent foundation here in Ecuador as that would make opening an Ecuadorian bank account far more possible. This means looking for people who are willing to be board members and submitting the required paperwork to the right people, a job which we're not exactly looking forward to! We'll also have to build an office in the outside space as we are currently using the spare room as our office and Frankie will need that as a bedroom.
Personally we'll be enjoying every moment of our last few months here. We've been so blessed to have travelled quite a lot around Ecuador and we only have one or two places we'd really like to see before we leave. After two years we've made some really good friends here so we'll also spend as much time with them as possible making sure we take as many photos as possible for the future.
New card designs for 2019!
Once again we want to take this opportunity to say a massive thank you to all of you who have supported us with finances, prayers and love over these past 2 years. We could not have been here without you and you should feel proud that today 8 people have jobs and a future that they wouldn't have had without your support and that is a massive deal!
For those who give through direct debit our charity checkout account will stay open once we leave in May and the funds will be used for the project here in general. If you want to continue to give to this project that would be absolutely amazing as the work here has really only just begun, there are so many more people in Santo Domingo who need our help.
If you so choose you can also support Jess and Andy directly through this button and I hope they will allow me the liberty of saying thank you on their behalf.
For those who give through direct debit our charity checkout account will stay open once we leave in May and the funds will be used for the project here in general. If you want to continue to give to this project that would be absolutely amazing as the work here has really only just begun, there are so many more people in Santo Domingo who need our help.
If you so choose you can also support Jess and Andy directly through this button and I hope they will allow me the liberty of saying thank you on their behalf.
Well that's about it for this newsletter, it seems it's a short one but with some big news. We will write our final email before we leave and in the mean time you can keep up to date with us through Facebook and Instagram, the links are at the bottom of this email.
God Bless,
Mark and Lydia
God Bless,
Mark and Lydia