No. 18 BuildingHope September 2016 Project EC538 in a depressed neighborhood of La Libertad: Captivating talks on health and hygiene for parents Professionals cooperate with the project to teach the parents of sponsored children topics intended to help themselves and their children and to engage the families to the Gospel. Amor de Dios Church COLOMBIA OCÉANO PACÍFICO CDSP EC538 Quito MANABÍ ECUADOR La Libertad Canton SANTA ELENA Guayaquil Province of Santa Elena Cuenca Once de Diciembre Citadel PERÚ GUAYAS SANTA Lunch ELENA time. Entrance to La Libertad Santa Elena La Libertad. after lunch, provided by the project. Those Guayaquil who come in the afternoon leave the project after receiving their dinner. Playas The percentage of attendance is 95% and when a child is absent, the tutors visit their homes to ascertain what happened and how they could be of help. In addition to studying the regular curricula Once de Diciembre Citadel and evangelism, the children pray, sing, play Basic Services Comments and make crafts. La Libertad is an Ecuadorian city and Potable water No, there is only piped water. canton of the province of Santa Elena on the Sewage No. The church in the community coast of Ecuador. It has 96,000 inhabitants Electricity Yes. Miguel Angel Parrales is the (2010) and lies on a very dry and hot area, Street lights Yes. Pastor of project EC538. Currently, with a low rainfall. Telephone Only mobile lines in the area. they work with a group of 15 Those living in fringe areas such as Public transportation Bus, taxi or walk on foot. mothers by training them in life ciudadela Once de Diciembre live on fishery, skills: teddy bears and custom jewelry. Talks construction work, some others own a small The nice-looking on reproductive health and hygiene are also business, others sell juice and candy on the entrance to the project. delivered by professional guests. So, nearly 40 streets. Very few are formally employed. people attend, among them, a few fathers. Hence, very often many families have no means to eat all three daily meals. No major crimes take place in the citadel, however, some concern has began to arise due to drug Pastor Parrales and his microtrafficking. wife, Maria, work together with parents. Many households of the area are unsteady for the usual reasons: fathers who abandon their children and partners to start new families Time to pray in class. somewhere else, infidelity, abuse. Single mothers and cases of early pregnancy abound. The latest activities have been used to The project in the community introduce the parents in spiritual matters. Project EC538 began their work in Evangelism and discipleship meetings are this citadel in January 2015. The Project held on Wednesday and Saturday nights and “Love” assists 270 children and is a service is performed with the children and conducted by Lupe Tomalá with Tuesday and Saturday and those who study adults on Sundays. Several isolated believers the cooperation of three tutors. in the afternoon come in the morning. The have begun to attend the church and be The project gathers on every children who come in the morning go to school ministered as to their needs. 1 BuildingHope Angela Pincay, mother of Francisco, from EC538: “I will also do my best for my son, thank you” A single mother commits to strive for her son’s health care, who was a victim of an unfortunate home accident at four years old. In a house made of cane and zinc in the In the classroom, ready middle of a dry piece of land, full of yellowish Haciendo tareas escolares ento la beginhabitación the lesson. que dust in ciudadela Once de Diciembre in La Francisco shows one o f the photos comparte con su madre. Libertad, lives Angela Pincay with her four of his sponsor, the children: Vicky (11), Francisco (7), Ruth (5) child Dylan Rapp and Karen (3). Currently, she devotes her time and his family. taking care of them. She used to work selling bolos (a flavored frozen drink) on the street but she had to quit when she became pregnant with Karen. Angela has not been able to form a stable household. The father of her three younger Angela, Francisco, Praying with his children and Karen’s father left them long ago, Karen, Ruth and classmates. Vicky, the oldest and now she is trying to move on with her third child. partner, Leonardo, a street seller of mangoes. “My new partner supports me, but he barely has money,” she explains; “He helps me with breakfast, dinner and has nothing left.” Despite the hardships, the children enjoyed good health in general, but that changed one day when Francisco was four years old. Two weeks after Karen’s birth, Angela was visiting her father when one of her sisters came to her When Angela informed about Painting Bible alarmed. “Have you seen what the kid has characters. drunk?!” she demanded. Francisco’s health issues, he At first, they had no idea how he found was happily registered, in that bottle. “My dad had brought a flask, spite of not complying with which the children took to pour some water and freeze it in my father’s refrigerator,” the required age. informs Angela. Francisco drank the water and her child at the hospital 24 hours a day, as she shortly, he was in deep pain. He was taken to was allowed to sleep in the room where he was the local hospital and then to Santa Elena and intubated. For a moment she even had to face Guayaquil seeking better care. That moment, Jairo comparte el refrigerio de the alternative to leave Fernando, as he did cumpleaños con sus amigos. the child was unconscious and fell into a coma. not come out from the coma and the doctors The bottle with the contaminated assured her that they could not keep him that water disappeared and they were asked to way indefinitely. Fortunately, the little one bring it to the hospital to ascertain how to woke up and although he complained about the treat Fernando’s intoxication. An analysis Occasionally, Francisco has pain in his throat, he began to recover. performed right after they found it, revealed some eating problems, but Three weeks later, Fernando was he will do better. carbamate residues, a poisonous component discharged very weak due to this test, but he used for pesticides. walked out. “I was given medication, we with his sister Ruth. The project has helped “He almost died,” recalls Angela. When came back home, but he did not want to eat,” with several expenses and is attentive to the the father of the child found out about the tells Angela. Indeed: “I cannot eat, it hurts, it evolution of his case. He has been diagnosed accident, he went to see him at the hospital and hurts,” complained the child. with esophagitis, a disorder that even now, gave the mother $50 dollars to help her with “When I went to the hospital, they told me causes him problems to swallow, chest pain and the expenses, but he never came back. During that he was fine. ‘if you do not make him eat, throat ache. As part of his treatment, he must three exhausting weeks, Angela took care of he will not eat,’” she was reprimanded. Angela undergo six endoscopies, and two have already told them that her child was in pain, so they been carried out and have found a narrowing of provided her with pain relievers, serum and the esophagus, which explains the why’s of his then, he would eat for a while, but then again symptoms. Nevertheless, the physician assures he would not eat, so, he lost much weight. that Francisco will eventually get better. This was their situation until Compassion The project is now attentive to the child arrived in the life of this family. When Angela and his comprehensive needs, and Angela informed about Francisco’s health issues, recognizes: “I am very grateful for the help he was happily registered, in spite of not provided to my baby and for taking my children The house of the family. complying with the required age. into account, please keep going. I will also do Currently, Francisco is sponsored together my best for my son. Thank you very much.” 2 BuildingHope Plenitud de Dios Church in Playas COLOMBIA The dining area assists the OCÉANO PACÍFICO CDSP EC570 Quito MANABÍ children in several groups. ECUADOR Playas Canton SANTA ELENA Guayaquil Province of Guayas Cuenca PERÚ Cooperativa 25 de Julio Neighborhood GUAYAS SANTA ELENA La Libertad Santa Elena Playas is a popular tourism destination for Ecuadorians. Guayaquil Children from both morning and afternoon Playas schools receive lunch to conclude their activities, or prior to start them, depending on their schooling schedule. The project has sought to add more activities to their regular ones, in order to involve the children’s parents Cooperativa 25 de Julio Neighborhood such as community cleaning around the place Basic Services Comments and family outings. Olympics will be organized Potable water Yes, it is poor, water must be bought. soon with the children and their parents. Sewage No, septic tanks. General Villamil, better known as Playas, Electricity Yes. The Church in the community is a city and bathing place located in the Street lights Yes. Not good. Carlos Carbo is the pastor of province of Guayas on the Ecuadorian coast, Telephone Land lines and mobile. EC570. Since July, he conducts a about 100 kilometers from Guayaquil. It has Public transportation Taxi, station wagon, truck, on foot. nearly 35,000 inhabitants (2010), a figure School for Parents with the dual that increases in the summer thanks to the purpose of educating adults on The project facilities were family issues and introduce them to the Word abundant tourists visit.