PUBLICACIONES
Service to Others: An Essential Value
Hello everyone! Today I wanted to share a few examples of the members of the Foundation being in service to each other. Part of our strategy for helping families leave poverty behind is to change the mindset of helplessness. In being of service to each other, they come to gain confidence that they have something to give and and responsibility to support each other. I particularly enjoyed the way the kids jumped to help unload the food delivered from the Quito Food Bank this week.
INTERESTED IN PARTNERING WITH US?
We are looking for both donations and long- or short-term volunteers and visitors. Please see our Take Action page to see how you could be part of this, or contact us if you'd like to support us in some other way. Please keep us in your prayers. All the best from Quito!
Education: Saturday Values Formation Sessions
Hello everyone! As some of you may know, we are frequently telling both our members and our donors that this is not a charity - we ask our members to give back both through direct service of others, and by making a commitment to bettering themselves and their families.
Part of this commitment involves learning the 10 Values we see as essential to a family's success. Inspired by the Gospel, these values have helped many, many families leave poverty behind in a way simple material assistance never could.
Attended by all of the parents and kids over 15 years old, each month we take a Saturday morning to explore a different theme and ask our members for reflection and action. Up this month: Education. Take a walk through the session with us!
To kick off the meeting, Marco Polo, our Director of Education, welcomed everyone and introduced our teaching staff. Delia, who runs a daycare program for play and homework, talked about the importance of demonstrating and teaching honesty at home in support of our work here. Juan, our computer teacher, reinforced his focus on practice over theory when it comes to learning computers. Bronwyn, our English teacher, shared “El Pacto” (The Agreement), a sort of promise between teacher, students, and parents about expected behaviors and motivations. She also taught the adults a Genki English song using the vocabulary “Hello, how are you?” to give them a taste of what their kids are learning. (Click here to see our young students performing the same song.)
Marco then talked about what constitutes education and why it matters for our families. The people talked about learning at school, at home, on the job, and on the street. Marco reviewed that education is not about just learning facts, but also values like Discipline and Responsibility. There was even a guest appearance by our President, Jorge Borjas, himself a working kid, who told a story about the importance of arriving on time. Overall, the whole experience prompted a lot of laughs and thoughtful discussion. A great way to kick off the school year!
Stay tuned for next month, when we tackle Health in our Saturday Session!
INTERESTED IN PARTNERING WITH US?
We are currently looking for donations to support our education programs. Please see our Take Action page to see how you could be part of this, or contact us if you'd like to support us in some other way. Please keep us in your prayers. All the best from Quito!
Signs of Change
Hello everyone! We had an exciting activity last Friday that I think you’re really going to enjoy. Fabricio (in the yellow shirt below) is a friend of our founders and a former working kid. He grew up in circumstances very similar to our kids, and connects with them in a really special way. He will be helping Carlos, our director of social work, to run weekly values sessions for the kids.
To kick off the years classes, Fabricio asked the kids to think about what we could do to make our Foundation more beautiful and remind our families about some of our core values. Over the course of the afternoon, they brainstormed slogans and made these wonderful posters that are now hung up all around the place. Hope you enjoy browsing through.
INTERESTED IN PARTNERING WITH US?
We are currently looking for donations to support our education programs. Please see our Take Action page to see how you could be part of this, or contact us if you'd like to support us in some other way. Please keep us in your prayers. All the best from Quito!
Teaching Values - Saturday Development Sessions
Hello everyone! As some of you may know, we are frequently telling both our members and our donors that this is not a charity - we ask our members to give back both through direct service of others, and by making a commitment to bettering themselves and their families.
Part of this commitment involves learning the 10 Values we see as essential to a family's success. Inspired by the Gospel, these values have helped many, many families leave poverty behind in a way simple material assistance never could.
Part of receiving is giving back - here, Scarlet and Valentina are helping clean up after breakfast.
This past Saturday, we had our monthly Values Development Sessions. Attended by all of the parents and kids over 15 years old, each month we explore a different theme and ask our members for reflection and action. Up this month: Motivation & Self-Esteem.
Dra. Elizabeth Jara, a psychologist and Treasurer of the Foundation, discussed the power of believing in yourself, and Christian "Silveirio” Caicedo, himself a working kid and a career singer and performer, gave a rousing motivational talk.
INTERESTED IN PARTNERING WITH US?
We are currently looking for donations to adult education programs. Please see our Take Action page to see how you could be part of this, or contact us regarding in-kind donations. All the best from Quito!