Ecuador 2016: Guest Post by Anna Morrison

Tuesday, May 31st, 2016

Anna Morrison has been a huge supporter and helper of For One Another, and in February of 2016, she took her second trip representing our foundation (her first trip was several years ago to Uganda).  Here, Anna gives us a quick account of her experience:

In February of this year we made our annual trip to Ecuador, this time taking with us over 80 filters, more than we’ve been able to bring on one trip previously! With only two of us and a two bag per person limit, our packing abilities were tested. Nevertheless, we made it to Ecuador, breezed through customs and were on our way the following morning from Quito to Tena in the Napo province of Ecuador. As always our partners at MAP International had already selected, prepared and scheduled our visits with the communities they’ve been working with.

Although access to safe drinking water is improving throughout Ecuador, the majority of rural communities still rely on contaminated water from nearby rivers, waterfalls and rainwater collected from the roofs of their homes. As a result, malnourishment is rampant coinciding with fevers, diarrhea, headaches and coughs. On this trip we visited four communities, two of which had received filters previously and we followed up with their progress.

Pictured below is Delia Genoveva Chimbo Shiguango from the Tamia Unku community, about 2 hours deep into the jungles of Tena. She’s the mother of 8 children who frequently suffer from diarrhea due to the quality of the water from their local waterfall. Delia’s new water filtration system will drastically improve the quality of her life and the lives of her growing family.

As Anna stated, Delia’s is just one of many families that FOA was able to provide a filter to, thanks to the generosity of our supporters.  Your help matters, and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts! Big thanks to Anna for all that you do and for taking time to write for us!

Anna and Carrie after giving donated clothes to orphans in Quito. When they brought the bag of clothes out, the kids tore through them with excitement and were so proud to wear them.

Volunteers tell about their experience in Ecuador

Monday, May 12th, 2014

Ecuador 2014 Nicole Tarwater’s thoughts: .Ecuador 2014 was such an amazing trip, I’m so thankful I was able to finally participate in an FOA Trip. Being there in person was amazing, and seeing all the needs everywhere we turned was heart wrenching. We were able to do so much and to travel to so many locations in the 11 days we were there. We went to the coast, mountains, and jungle to bring clean water solutions to villages there. One highlight of the trip was at one of the first villages we went to, we were able to hear from a little 11 year old boy about how clean water has changed his life. He said he used to get stomach aches all the time and would have to stay home from school a lot, but now that they’ve been drinking clean water he can go to school and be with all his friends. It was tear jerking to hear this little child speak and how thankful he was for something we take for granted everyday. Amazing stuff people!!! He has younger brothers and sisters that are benefiting from the clean water as well, and all of them were happy and healthy! 🙂 That is just one story of many and I’m so thankful I was there to experience them all! My eyes were truly opened to what all For One Another does for others. I’m sure this will be my first trip of many! For all those of you worried about our safety, thank you for your prayers for us during our travels. Honestly I felt perfectly safe throughout this trip and would highly recommend anyone to volunteer in Ecuador, it was an amazing country to see. I can’t wait to go back! Clean water is a gift, Life is a gift, let’s do what we can to help others live longer!!! Meghan Wood’s Journey: I had a fairly privileged life growing up. The only real hard times I faced as a child were the usual: teasing, sleepovers and boys with an occasional zit or two. From these experiences, I knew I wanted to be a part of “the group”… part of what was going on.  I didn’t know what that exactly meant then. I didn’t know it would include volunteerism or being a part of organized charities. I just knew I wanted the ”me” to be part of the ”we”. Fast forward to now… over the past few years I have been volunteering with For One Another Foundation helping with the various events like the Taste of Loomis and FOA fundraising dinners. This work has fueled the spark that I was born with inside of me… a spark I believe we are all born with. Each event and fundraiser has been kindling for the spark. The result: a FIRE grew to the point where I had to have the conversation with Carrie about taking my volunteering to the next level. I wanted to go on a trip with her and this how I was so blessed with the amazing opportunity to go to Ecuador just a few weeks ago. A few months ago I took my normal world of hair driers, designer shoes and jeans, makeup, happy hours, iPhones, hot showers, and prime time TV to a world of: –           poverty –           hunger –           disease I realized that I truly was there to make a difference. I could make a difference. That was a moment that changed me forever. I found –           myself –           my ethics –           my values I connected to the “we” more than ever in that moment.I am not the change…. We are the change. Someone once said opportunity is not a chance, it is a choice. I made a choice to go on this amazing trip to Ecuador and now I have made a choice to share my experience. My hope is that my experience has lite your spark and YOU will make a choice to fuel YOUR fire.

Ecuador Team 2014

Friday, January 3rd, 2014

We are off again!!! Heading to Ecuador on January 22nd.  I am so thrilled about this trip for so many reasons.  First off, I will be traveling with some of my most fav peeps in the world.  My little sister Nicole and one of my best friends, Meghan.  I am so happy and honored to be able to share in this work with these two special ladies.

We will be traveling a lot.  Our first stop will be in Santa Domingo to check up on our past water project.  Then we will be bringing some joy to some of the cutest kiddos ever at 2 orphanages in Quito.  From there we will be heading to Apatug to view a future project and then heading into the amazon jungle to install water filters and teach.  Why will we be doing a water project this year in the jungle?  Because our partners MAP.org have stated that this area is in deep need for clean water and For One Another Foundation strives to help those in the most needed areas of the world.  So off to the jungle we will go.  I am so glad that we have a great team and I know this trip will be a great success.

Please meet our team…

Nicole Tarwater- As sister to Carrie Beth I have had a front row seat to all of For One Another Foundations doings around the world and I am so excited to be apart of the team going to Ecuador in January 2014. I have been so encouraged by the work I see FOA doing and now I FINALLY get to see the work firsthand! I am so blessed to have the opportunity to go on this trip and I know it will change my little world forever.

Meghan Wood – As a member of the For One Another volunteer team for the past few years, I have been a part of the planning and executing of multiple fundraising events. I am inspired by everything that FOA has accomplished and I am truly EXCITED and honored to be a part of the team going to Ecuador in January 2014. FOA brings hope to the people they help and I am humbled to have the opportunity to be a little part of that.

Cupa Community Update and the Jonathan and Stefania Story

Saturday, October 6th, 2012

We arrived in Ecuador on November 1st where I met our other two team members and also very good friends of mine Elham and Matt Watson.  My Spanish speaking had to jump into full gear once we could not locate Matt and Elham´s luggage.  We got through the little mix up within about an hour ha and then we were on our way to our hostel.  It was a little more sketchy than I would´ve liked to greet our new FOA members but they handled it well.  We got a few hours a sleep and early the next morning we were on our way to the coast to stay with the Cupa Community.  We had such a lovely welcome there.  The people are so kind and generous even while living in extreme poverty.  We managed without a shower for 2 days as many houses are without bathrooms altogether.  We were able to check up on the families that received filters and it was so encouraging to see them continue to use them and filter clean water after 9 months. (more…)