Colombia is only exceeded by Sudan in displaced refugees. I’m currently reading “The Dispossessed – Chronicles of the Desterrados of Colombia” by Alfredo Molano. It’s a collection of stories from the refugees themselves. Most are just spine chilling. The violence these people experience at the hands of opposing forces is appalling. They hit home even more to me personally knowing people who have been through this. I pray that Andean Aid will be able to provide peace and comfort to some of these hurting people.
Gifts. I’m not a big gift giver and always have trouble picking out the right thing. But, gifts in Latin America are a big deal. There are several problems with gift giving. For whom do I buy and what do I get. And I always have to be conscious that there is only so much room in two suitcases. I’ll be staying in several households so those are a given. I’ll be meeting several important people so gifts are appropriate there. Two birthdays that I know of. Help!
I have an idea to just buy a few gift bags of Jelly Bellies. They are a regional treat. People in Venezuela love them. There are no such thing as jelly beans there. And Ronald Reagan loved them. If they’re good enough for the President of the United States they’re good enough for anyone. Right? They are easy to carry. Won’t break. This may be just the thing.
Then again??
Well, not quite yet. But in just two weeks from right now I’ll be descending to Medellín, Colombia. New territory for me. Thank God colleagues from Rubio, Venezuela will be there to meet me. We’ll be meeting with folks there to see if Andean Aid should expand there with help and Hope Centers. Also, as a special bonus, a long time contributor and supporter from California will be in the city and we’ll have a chance to meet.
I don’t want to bore you with the full itinerary (and I do mean FULL) for the six weeks of the trip. But, I’ll be making frequent blog updates as I go along. Some text and some video blog posts. Some serious and some funny. Some nostalgic for those of you who have been in this part of the world.
Right now I’m focused on packing and making a check list of all I need to do and pack. I get paranoid that I might forget something important. My trusty old Mind manager software program for business is coming in handy right now. It keeps me on track and shows everything in as much or as little detail as I like.
My biggest concern at the moment is getting to the airport for my flight. A Metra train station is literally right across the street from where I live. I can take it to a stop north of Chicago, get off and walk one block to the CTA Montrose blue line train which stops in O’Hare airport right at the American airlines terminal. Exactly where I need to go and I only need to walk two blocks. The concern is the weather. The forecast calls for bitter cold. I’ll have to bundle up but I won’t need a coat where I’m going. So, I’m considering buying an old coat and ditching it at the airport. Any better ideas?
Stay tuned as I present my angst as the time draws even closer.
May 152010
The board of directors of Andean Aid has issued a challenge to me to complete a book by the end of the year detailing my experience of leaving industry to serve as a missionary ans subsequently forming Andean Aid. I’ve had an outline for some time now and have begun plowing into the first chapter. Those of you that know me – pray for me. I’m easily distracted so pray for perseverance and persistence. I’m hoping that putting this out there in a most public way will keep me on track. I may be contacting some of you for clarification of certain events. So, off I go, quill in hand.
May 062010
I’m attending the Head Start national conference in Dallas, Texas. It’s a great conference and a side benefit is that the information I receive is very pertinent to improving Andean Aid and our Help and Hope Centers. I return on Monday for surgery but should be up to speed by Tuesday. Wishful thinking? I hope not. Anyway, as soon as possible I’ll be back to making blog posts about our exciting work in the Andes. Please pray for our director who contracted dengue fever this week. I’ve experienced this and it is not pleasant. More unpleasant while raising a baby I imagine.
Apr 242010
Well, I contacted TOM’S shoes to see what the requirements were to be a shoe drop point figuring that perhaps we could meet the needs of the kids attending our Help and Hope Centers. Wouldn’t it be great to meet the needs of a few hundred or a thousand kids? My jaw dropped when I found out the minimum commitment an organization can make is to distribute 17,000 pairs of shoes! Every six months! To the same kids!
Now, I respect what TOM’S Shoes is doing to meet the needs of poor children. And I understand that it’s wise to keep the same kids in a pair of shoes as they grow. But 17,000? Every six months. A participating organization also has to keep records and provide stories of how the shoes are positively impacting the child’s life. All this is good.
My question is, what organization that has its’ own mission to carry out has the surplus resources to create a system to distribute 17,000 pairs of shoes every six months? And remember, 17,000 pairs is the minimum requirement. If we were to create such a system our kids would not be receiving help with their studies at the Help and Hope Centers. They would be getting shoes period.
The ads for TOM’S on television show a company representative going into a village, getting hugs, and giving away shoes. What the ads don’t say is that more than a hundred such villages would have to be visited each six months.
So, we at Andean Aid will continue to provide a superior place for young minds to grow and develop. We will stay out of the shoe business.
Apr 062010
Andean Aid is participating in Toms Shoes “One Day Without Shoes” event on April 8th. This event is to bring attention to the need to provide shoes to the poor. TOMS gives a pair of shoes to someone in need for every pair purchased. So, why is Andean aid participating? Yesterday I found out from our Help and Hope Center director, Gaby Andrade, that a huge need among our students is shoes. Just in villa Bahareque it is estimated that 200 children need shoes. In our Cúcuta, Colombia location the need is even greater with an estimated 500 children without proper footwear. The same with our new Chinácota, Colombia location. That’s why we’re spending the day shoeless to get a feel for these kids needs. Wouldn’t it be great if Andean Aid joined forces with Toms Shoes and our location in La Frontera of Venezuela and Colombia became one of their shoe drops? Learn more about One Day Without Shoes at the following link and go barefootin’ with us.
Mar 132010
It’s done! Andean Aid has taken a third ownership in a restaurant (name to be determined). This venture will allow diversity in the funding of our organization by providing an earned income stream to supplement contributions. This means we still need you. Individual donors are the backbone of any non-profit organization. It allows us to fill in the gaps and fund projects we might not otherwise be able to provide.
Arepas and empanadas to develop body, mind and spirit of poor children in the Andes? Hmm, we shall see. Andean Aid is considering a third share of a new restaurant in Rubio, Venezuela to provide earned income to help support the ministry. Contributions from supporters make up the backbone of any non-profit organization but an income stream can help fill in the gaps for a time and provides diversity in the fundraising plan. It may even allow us to open additional Help and Hope Centers with future donations.
The other two owners in the plan are the Christian radio station in Rubio and the Family of God Church. Andean Aid has a stake in the radio station where we produce two programs, one reaching children and the other reaching teens and young adults. Ana Carillo, Pastor of the Family of God Church is the director of our Venezuelan Civil Association, Una Sonrisa Para Todos. So, all principals in the plan are familiar and are motivated for the others to succeed.
Children at our Help and Hope Center face a huge disadvantage in the area of mathematics. There are no resources at home to assist with this subject and the children fall into a spiral of failure. A child that fails one year of math is faced with making up the failed year along with a whole new year of math – an untenable situation. This was the circumstance for Javier Caceres. To address this problem the Help and Hope Center has hired a mathematics teacher to provide intense tutoring. The result has been outstanding. Javier is now passing both years of math and many other students are benefiting as well.
