Raising Money for Ecuador


A bit of background about Ecuador…

Ecuador is a small country in South America.  It borders with Colombia and Peru.  The country is made up of 4 main areas – the Amazon jungle, the Andes Mountains, the Coast and the Galapagos Islands.  Ecuador is a country of football, various people groups and cultures, and dance.  Anything and everything grows here and it is rich in minerals and oil.  It could be a rich country, but it is subject to a corrupt government, poor educational system and also perhaps a bit of lack of vision in the individual. 

It has one of the highest rates of immigration in the world – with almost every family having someone in the US, Spain or another country desperately trying to make money to send back to their families.  It is mainly Catholic, and most people believe in God, but have yet to have a personal encounter with Jesus.  There are two things that every Ecuadorian shares – a pride in being Ecuadorian, and a disgust for the corrupt government. 

Ecuadorians are open, friendly people and enjoy sharing everything with others, especially food whether they have enough or not.  They are relaxed and enjoy spending time with family and friends and love parties.  There is a certain madness and disorganisation to them – their love and fearlessness with fireworks and fire in general, their processions and riots and their ability to fiddle their way out of any legal or difficult situation. 

Their government is just as disorganised and corrupt as they are, if not more so.  Once, they had 6 presidents in 6 days; and another time, most of their jungle area was passed over to Peru when the then presidents of Ecuador and Peru got drunk and played cards and the president of Ecuador betted off part of the country and lost!

Why are we raising money?…

As with any developing country, the poor are very poor and it is very difficult to get out of poverty.  The very rich keep the money and it is very difficult to raise money within the country itself.  However, people do give money to beggars on the streets – even the poor people and people do genuinely want to help others – the spirit is there, but the means isn’t.  I want to help encourage people there by showing them not only that we care, but also that they can have ideas to raise money there and carry them out.  There isn’t a culture of fund raising and people do not have so many ideas of what they can do to help, so let’s help with that too!  The money is specifically for the church I attended, La Roca, to help raise money for equipment that will help them reach more people and will be an encouragement to them as we share in their struggles.

What is the money going towards?…

Money is being raised at the moment towards the costs of building the La Roca church in Santo Domingo. The building is partially completed but there is still a lot more to do. To find out more about the church building you can see some pictures HERE. A team from Lawn Community Church is going to Ecuador in October 2007 to help with the building and to teach, to encourage and to share.

How can I be sure that my money will go to the right people?…

I have British missionary friends working out there and with the people that this money is going to and they are trust worthy.  I have built good friendships with these people and I know that the pastor especially is trust worthy and able to manage money.  We have given money whilst I was there and I have seen that this money was used correctly and without corruption.

- Claire Simmons

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