Tag: Ecuador

Kelly Lituma, Fe y Alegría Ecuador student, wins gold medal at the Special Olympics 2017

Posted on by Nate Radomski

58f9619a94584

Last April, Panama held the third edition of the Latin American Games of the Special Olympics, an organization that “releases the human spirit through the power of transformation and the joy of sports”, as they define themselves on their webpage.

Fe y Alegría Ecuador student, Kelly Lituma, was the rhythmic gymnastics champion, also finishing in third, fourth and sixth place in other events during the competition. “I thank the interpreters that helped me, Fe y Alegría, and the professors that taught me how to participate in the best possible way”, says Kelly in an interview with Fe y Alegría Ecuador.

Narcisa Rodríguez, the physiotherapist that joined the group of students from Ecuador, also expressed her gratitude. “Thank you to Fe y Alegría for the unconditional support received since the moment I was selected to represent our athletes.”  They both consider it has been a great experience, both for the development of athletes living with disabilities and for the cultural learning they obtained from meeting young athletes from other countries in Latin America.

Kelly, during the interview, sends a message to the rest of teenagers that are in a similar position as her: “Keep studying, learning, we all can do it, it doesn’t matter that you have a disability, you can keep studying.”

For over 50 years, Fe y Alegría Ecuador has promoted a quality education for the most marginalized populations. Friends of Fe y Alegría supports some of their most relevant projects. The program “Tell me everything Ecuador” proposes an alternative education model for children and teenagers which promotes social inclusion through the improvement of their soft skills and the creation of a social support platform for students and families.

Friends also supports the project “Holistic Training in Human Christian Values for Parents and Community Leaders”, that seeks to empower, support and strengthen parental involvement in the educational community, so that they themselves become transformative protagonists of their own realities and so that Fe y Alegría Ecuador schools have a parent organization that is involved in their children’s education.

Congratulations Kelly!

Fe y Alegría Ecuador awarded with a Loyola Foundation grant

Posted on by Nate Radomski

Fe y Alegría Ecudaor_kids

Fe y Alegría Ecuador became a Loyola Foundation grant recipient for the first time in its history this past July, as it was awarded a $5,000 grant for a new infrastructure project. The proposal—which will benefit the “Padre José Antonio González de Durana SJ” School, located in Ciudadela Mariana de Jesús, a town on the outskirts of Guayaquil—was developed in coordination with Friends of Fe y Alegría in the United States.

The project, which will renovate a school playground and three classrooms to meet Ecuadorean Ministry of Health standards, will benefit 260 children from the neighborhood, thus giving them a safer and more appropriate school environment.

“We are committed to projects that improve the quality of our schools and as a result, the quality of our education,” said Maria Dolores Briceño, Public Advocacy Coordinator at Fe y Alegría Ecuador. “We believe that the most effective way to achieve equitable and sustainable development for the most vulnerable groups—for our students—is to increase access to schools with appropriate educational spaces.”

Briceño also praised the partnership with Friends of Fe y Alegría. “Together with Friends of Fe y Alegría in the United States we have opened new frontiers to work in and to create strategic alliances, particularly with Latino communities in the U.S. We also now have new opportunities to raise awareness of the importance of defending the right to a quality education for our children.”

The Loyola Foundation, which was founded in 1957, is an American charity dedicated to supporting international organizations and programs associated with the Catholic Church, especially those in the global south. The foundation primarily focuses its support on capital projects with budgets under $10,000 USD (construction, equipment, vehicles, etc.).

The project also received support from multiple U.S. donors through the “Safe Schools, Brighter Futures” campaign, which was launched last April by Friends of Fe y Alegría in the United States.