HELP AND HOPE CENTERS
Andean Aid provides educational aid to children in 12 communities
in the Andes region of Venezuela and Colombia.
Each of our carefully-planned centers is:
Housed within a church building,
Staffed with qualified, caring teachers and adult mentors
Equipped with resources students need for educational success.
We believe a good education is critical to helping a child unlock their potential.
ABOVE, LA LACHUGA STUDENTS WITH ANDEAN AID STAFF
Imagine a child who’s growing up in a loving home, but whose house has a dirt floor, cardboard walls and no electricity or running water. Before school, there’s nothing much for breakfast and after, not much for dinner. Now see that child at school, where money is collected for homework at the end of the day, but this child is unable to pay. When the student arrives home, they are hungry, and there are no pencils, markers, paper, computer or other resources pertinent to the homework.
It is for these children that Andean Aid operates local Help and Hope Centers in partnership with the nearby Christian church. Each Center provides a clean, productive, protective environment equipped with the homework and materials students need, many including computers. And each Center is staffed with qualified, caring adults who tutor and nurture the children. Often these local teachers act as advocates for the children in the public school system.
An important side benefit to locating the Centers within the community in collaboration with the local church: the growth of the church itself. As one pastor in Cucuta, Colombia put it: “The Help and Hope Center is the very best program for the small community church to facilitate growth.”
PASTOR JUAN CARLOS TOBON WITH STUDENTS AT THE AEROPUERTO HELP & HOPE CENTER
HELP AND HOPE CENTER LOCATIONS AND STAFF
Mara – (Zulia, Venezuela)
Children: 60
Pastor: Pastor Palmar
Staff: Herodia Palmar
La Lechuga – (Zulia, Venezuela)
Children: 80
Pastor: Ender Romero
Staff: Janeth Toscana
Caneyes – (Tachira, Venezuela)
Children: 60
Pastor: Tomas Manrique
Staff: Tomas Manrique, Katty Villamizar
La Palmita – (Rubio, Venezuela)
Children: 77
Pastor: Marcos Guedez
Staff: Marcos Guedez
La Florida 2000 – (Rubio, Venezuela)
Children: 70
Pastor: Alexander Peñaloza
Staff: Glendy Manrique, Albur Rodriguez, Alexander Peñaloza
Villa Bahareque – (Rubio, Venezuela)
Children: 60
Pastor: Under the direction of Civil Association "Una Sunrisa Para Todos"
Staff: Pedro Gamboa, Wilsa Caceres, Carolina Garcia
Las Delicias – (Tachira State, Venezuela)
Children: 70
Pastor: Alexander Peñaloza
Staff: Lubianka Caceres, Wilsa Caceres
Getsemani – (Cucuta, Colombia)
Children: 72
Pastor: Jose Perez
Staff: Lumar Berbesí, Angelica de Perez, Dayra and Samuel González, Stefany Rios
Camilo Daza – (Cucuta, Colombia)
Children: 50
Pastor: Pedro Báez
Staff: Caridad Baez, Liliana Vanegas Caballero
La Pastora – (Cucuta, Colombia)
Children: 80
Pastor: Yonarly Alvarez
Staff: Yuliany Alvarez, Josefa Paez
Aeropuerto – (Cucuta, Colombia)
Children: 75
Pastor: Juan Carlos Tobon
Staff: Shirley Pabon, Elena CD Karen Tobon,
Andrea Chaustre
Simon Bolivar - (Cucuta, Colombia)
Children: 20
Pastor: Juan Carlos Tobon
Staff: Karen Tobon
SUPPORT AN EXISTING HELP AND HOPE CENTER
With your donation to an existing Help and Hope Center, the children who attend will receive vital educational resources and healthy after-school snacks provided by caring and qualified adult leaders.
ESTABLISH A NEW HELP AND HOPE CENTER
Scores of churches in Venezuela and Colombia would love to host a Help and Hope Center in their communities. It costs less than you think to provide everything they need to make this a reality. Your gift will have an immediate and significant impact.
CRITERIA: HOW NEW HELP & HOPE CENTERS ARE ESTABLISHED
THE FOUR “Ps”
Pastor | People | Place | Plan
When a church comes to Andean Aid requesting a Help and Hope Center for their community, the first thing we do is ensure that they have the four P’s: A Pastor; the People to organize and run the Center; a safe, secure neighborhood Place; and a Plan for running the Center continuously for the long-term.
Our staff in Venezuela visits the community, interviews the pastor, examines the community and visits the area, looks at the condition of the community, gets an estimate of the number of children that would be involved, and then has a meeting with the people that are going to carry out the plan and make this work.
The staff makes a recommendation to the board of directors in the U.S., who considers that request for a Center, makes sure there is adequate funding, and only then can we open a new Center . Once the center is open, we carefully monitor it, continually evaluating and supervising the operation and results.
EMERGENCY RELIEF
In times of political and economic upheaval, we are providing food and medicine to the most vulnerable children in our communities and to refugees who are fleeing Venezuela to Colombia.
JUAN CHRISTIANSEN CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
Andean Aid operates a private school fully staffed by locals that serves 250+ students. We own a large parcel of land in central Rubio, future home for a new school.
Why Should We Care?
Each and every person on this planet is God’s child – unique creatures He loves and has given gifts and dreams. When we cherish each of them, whether we meet them or can only imagine their existence in the poorest corners of the world, we are honoring God and practicing Christ-like love.