I have the immense blessing of working with 9 dedicated North American business people and farmers in addition to the 5 board members here in Ecuador. Their commitment to service has been an inspiration to me. Here is the story of one of our North American team members, as it appears in the Partners Worldwide June Newsletter:
Story by Jacqueline Klamer
For Felix Hernandez, trading commodities in the New York Stock Exchange has always been an exhilarating career. When he became a Christian, he decided he needed to build on those talents and serve others in his Christian walk.
Investing and expanding businesses comes naturally, says Felix--one company he launched grew from three employees to 300 within the eight years he managed it. Yet, within his church in New Jersey, he had trouble finding any opportunity to use his strongest gifts to serve. For years, he and his wife Sandy volunteered through a Samaritan's Purse program, helping out at local food shelters, and even building houses in Mexico. "I started thinking that I'm not using my God-given abilities in business," he says. "And, frankly I'm pretty bad at building houses."
In 2008, Felix searched online for ways to use his business knowledge to serve when he learned about the need for small and medium business loans in developing countries. He heard about Partners Worldwide, attended a conferece, and soon got connected with business members of Partners for Christian Development - Ecuador (PCD-E).
(Continue Story Here)
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Children have Rights to be Free
Yesterday was Children's Day (Día del Niño) here in Ecuador and in many other parts of the world. When I turned on the radio in the morning, I heard commentaries about the need for better access to medical care, less child labor, and better education. That's true not only here in Ecuador, but also in almost every country around the world. While the tradition here in Ecuador is to give children a gift in their families and a special celebration in their school on this day, there are other children who worked yesterday just to have some money to buy food. Most of those children weren't in school to participate in some special celebration.
Everyday here in Ecuador I see children who don't have the same advantages I had growing up. Most days as I ride the bus, there are young boys and girls pushing their way through the crowded bus to sell gum or candy to commuters. I live just up the hill from a large public high school, where two separate groups of students receive their education each weekday. There is an additional Saturday school group and a once-a-month distance-learning school. Sharing that space with so many other students cuts down on the time those students spend in the classroom learning. And they are the lucky ones. In July outside some schools, one can see parents literally camped out to reserve a cupo or space so that their son or daughter can attend that public school when it begins classes in August. If the parent isn't successful, that child misses a year of school.
While this post might seem pessimistic, I'd like to end on a hopeful note. First, by celebrating days like yesterday and focusing on the needs of children, we raise awareness and can work to improve the opportunities for each child. Second, progress is being made, albeit slowly. Ecuador is actively working to end child labor for children under 15 years of age, and in recent months, I've seen much more enforcement of labor laws in this country. And third, part of my work in business development is to support job creation. As parents are able to earn a fair wage and support their families, they are able to send their children to school instead of sending them to sell gum on the streets.
Last night as I listened to some music, a bitter sweet song that has become one of my favorites came up on my playlist. K'Naan asks in his song Fatima, "Why do we say that the children have rights to be free?" He questions that statement because in his personal experience it wasn't always true.
I would respond that we must continue saying that children have rights to be free because the moment we stop saying that, we give in to those who would take freedom away. But if we keep that right to be free in our mind even when it's not Children's Day, we remember our responsibility to ensure that right is respected for all children.
Everyday here in Ecuador I see children who don't have the same advantages I had growing up. Most days as I ride the bus, there are young boys and girls pushing their way through the crowded bus to sell gum or candy to commuters. I live just up the hill from a large public high school, where two separate groups of students receive their education each weekday. There is an additional Saturday school group and a once-a-month distance-learning school. Sharing that space with so many other students cuts down on the time those students spend in the classroom learning. And they are the lucky ones. In July outside some schools, one can see parents literally camped out to reserve a cupo or space so that their son or daughter can attend that public school when it begins classes in August. If the parent isn't successful, that child misses a year of school.
While this post might seem pessimistic, I'd like to end on a hopeful note. First, by celebrating days like yesterday and focusing on the needs of children, we raise awareness and can work to improve the opportunities for each child. Second, progress is being made, albeit slowly. Ecuador is actively working to end child labor for children under 15 years of age, and in recent months, I've seen much more enforcement of labor laws in this country. And third, part of my work in business development is to support job creation. As parents are able to earn a fair wage and support their families, they are able to send their children to school instead of sending them to sell gum on the streets.
Last night as I listened to some music, a bitter sweet song that has become one of my favorites came up on my playlist. K'Naan asks in his song Fatima, "Why do we say that the children have rights to be free?" He questions that statement because in his personal experience it wasn't always true.
I would respond that we must continue saying that children have rights to be free because the moment we stop saying that, we give in to those who would take freedom away. But if we keep that right to be free in our mind even when it's not Children's Day, we remember our responsibility to ensure that right is respected for all children.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
24 de Mayo
On May 24, 1822, General Jose Antonio de Sucre led Ecuadorian liberation forces in the Battle of Pichincha, which established Quito's independence. In effect, this was the final step to liberating all of the territory of the Real Audiencia de Quito, basically a swath of land from Guayaquil on the Pacific Coast to present-day Belen, Brazil at the mouth of the Amazon on the Atlantic Coast, including all of present-day Ecuador along with parts of Peru, Colombia, and Brazil.
So, you might ask, why does a battle 189 years ago matter? Because it's a holiday here in Ecuador! Actually, due to the politics of the current Ecuadorian government, all national holidays that fall midweek are moved to either Monday or Friday, resulting in a long weekend. In this case, last Friday was the holiday, and I took advantage of the day off to climb through the site of that ancient battle--the slopes of Volcano Pichincha. I had mentioned my climb earlier in May to my friend Leo, and he wanted to tackle the mountain as well. We conquered the summit in about 2 hours, 45 minutes after a slight detour due to the intense fog. My favorite part was finally seeing snowfall. Yep, I missed snow all winter, but on May 27, I finally got to experience flurry showers...and the accompanying almost-frozen fingers! It was great to tackle that summit again, and the next day I attempted a new summit, Pasochoa, with some friends. We had to turn back because of fog and low visibility, but hopefully in August we can make the top. More on that story (hint: pictures) at a later point.
Since I'm talking about 24 de Mayo, I want to end by sharing a little about how that battle and other events from hundreds of years ago shape present-day Ecuador.
1) The Sucre: Until dollarization in 2000, Ecuador's currency was the sucre, named after Jose Antonio de Sucre, whose face showed up on the 5 sucre note.
2) Border disputes: In 1822, the territory ruled from Quito extended from ocean to ocean and dwarfed present-day Ecuador. Over the years, bitter battles and disputes with Colombia, Brazil, and Peru have shrunk the borders of this country, where hostility still remains. Since the last border war, the Cenepa War with Peru, came in 1995, some Ecuadorians still harbor hard feelings against their neighbor to the southeast.
So, you might ask, why does a battle 189 years ago matter? Because it's a holiday here in Ecuador! Actually, due to the politics of the current Ecuadorian government, all national holidays that fall midweek are moved to either Monday or Friday, resulting in a long weekend. In this case, last Friday was the holiday, and I took advantage of the day off to climb through the site of that ancient battle--the slopes of Volcano Pichincha. I had mentioned my climb earlier in May to my friend Leo, and he wanted to tackle the mountain as well. We conquered the summit in about 2 hours, 45 minutes after a slight detour due to the intense fog. My favorite part was finally seeing snowfall. Yep, I missed snow all winter, but on May 27, I finally got to experience flurry showers...and the accompanying almost-frozen fingers! It was great to tackle that summit again, and the next day I attempted a new summit, Pasochoa, with some friends. We had to turn back because of fog and low visibility, but hopefully in August we can make the top. More on that story (hint: pictures) at a later point.
Since I'm talking about 24 de Mayo, I want to end by sharing a little about how that battle and other events from hundreds of years ago shape present-day Ecuador.
1) The Sucre: Until dollarization in 2000, Ecuador's currency was the sucre, named after Jose Antonio de Sucre, whose face showed up on the 5 sucre note.
2) Border disputes: In 1822, the territory ruled from Quito extended from ocean to ocean and dwarfed present-day Ecuador. Over the years, bitter battles and disputes with Colombia, Brazil, and Peru have shrunk the borders of this country, where hostility still remains. Since the last border war, the Cenepa War with Peru, came in 1995, some Ecuadorians still harbor hard feelings against their neighbor to the southeast.