We love what we do.  We love making a difference.  The daycare that we run at the Zambiza dump has become a testimony to the love of many.  Six years ago, the future for the children of the dump was bleak.  Most had no hope of ever going to school, and they didn’t dare dream of another life.  My friend Dawn wrote a while back that “the poor don’t dream”.  They don’t.  Dreaming creates the expectation and the hope that someday things might be different, while reality paints a very dark, very harsh reality.

Today, that reality is changing.  100% of the children who have gone through our daycare are now enrolled in school.  Their teachers marvel at how well they are doing.  They can dare to dream that perhaps tomorrow might be different.  The future looks brighter…sunnier…hopeful.  This has happened because of the generosity of others.  People who make sure that they have food to eat and clothes to wear…people who send money so that they can receive vaccines that protect them from disease…people who encourage them.  People like you.

Several weeks ago, Nestle contacted Extreme Response to let us know that they wanted to donate “some food”.  “Some food” translated to two tons.  4000 pounds. It was overwhelming, for a couple of reasons.  The first reason was that this was a local company, reaching out to help their own.  This is exciting for us to watch.  The second reason is that it was 4000 pounds.  Have you ever seen 4000 pounds of food in one spot?  It’s a LOT of food!  Several people from Nestle came and put on a program for the children, which they loved.  After that, Dan and the rest of the ER team (Nick, Dan Smoker, Paul and Susan and Mayra) were faced with the delightfully challenging task of making sense of all of that food, and figuring out how to get it into the hands of the workers at the dump.  Last Thursday, after much sorting and calculating, they were able to do a “food distribution” day.  Each person went home with a box of food that would last for a couple of weeks.  For people who work to earn just enough for each day, it was a huge blessing to have a little extra.

Thank you, friends, for standing with us and being a part of what is happening here in Ecuador and around the world.  Know that you are making a difference.  A huge difference.  You are bringing hope.

By Cyndi Maloy

A nursing class from USC Upstate is in the Western Cape Province of South Africa, teaching home healthcare workers from the New Beginnings Development Center and visiting homes in the local settlements, talking to residents about tuberculosis.

UK Computer Consultant Finds Joy in a Dump

Louise Carver’s co-workers in Winchester, England, think she is “slightly mad”. That’s because she prefers to spend her holidays taking care of other people’s kids thousands of miles from home.

In 2007, Carver decided it was time to take a trip where she could see and do something extraordinary. She wanted to experience a new culture, different weather, and a foreign language.

More than anything, she wanted to invest her time working for an organization that was helping people living in difficult circumstances.

After a bit of research, Carver found an organization that was placing volunteers in the Zambiza Dump in Quito, Ecuador. So she signed up for a six-month stint and stayed with an Ecuadorian family while working with children in the dump’s daycare.

The experience was life-changing. Each day Carver was able to work with the babies and small children of dump workers. She witnessed the transformation of children who often entered the nursery as malnourished, unvaccinated, and poorly stimulated.

Before the daycare (launched and managed by Extreme Response) opened, parents had no options. The children played in the trash as their parents “mined” for recyclable materials for hours on end. The families often ate food taken from the trash as well.

When Carver’s six months were up, she identified a way to continue serving the poor in Ecuador. She now returns as part of Extreme Response’s Christmas in Quito team of volunteers from around the world.

The team partners with local community centers, including the Zambiza Dump, to present annual Christmas parties where adults receive food staples and the kids receive gift bags. All participate in games, crafts, and family photos.

“After returning home, I found myself appreciating what I have that others don’t have and made a decision to do something about it,” Carver said. “I came back to be part of the Christmas parties so I could see the kids again.

“I enjoy taking a break from my paid work to come back to Quito,” Carver said. “It refreshes and recharges me.

“I like working with ER because it doesn’t just do projects that the volunteers want. ER focuses on the needs of the people and the culture. The organization stays in touch so a relationship builds over time.”

by Tim Fausch

The Kindle Orphan Outreach Katawi Clinic in Salima, Malawi is taking action to battle the recent measles epidemic. Kindle Directory Marilyn Barr writes: Malawi is in the midst of a widespread measles epidemic. The community around us is also affected, and we are seeing many new patients with measles, both children and adults, each day at the Katawa Clinic. There have been several deaths in the community because of measles. The government has launched a huge vaccination campaign this week, August 16-20, for every child aged 9 months to 15 years. Kindle is a part of this through our clinic and the health officers who work there. Every day they will be working long hours in the villages to make sure everyone is covered.

Summer is work team season for Extreme Response. One of the ways we can best help our partners is to provide them with teams willing to help out for a week or two and bring the funds needed to get the work done. The teams really get to know our people and projects personally. We have 16 teams scheduled for Ecuador during the summer months (June, July and August). Although we do work teams in other locations, Ecuador is the number one destination this summer. Here’s a list of who they are and who they are working with.

• Avery Coonly School 8th grade Class - Quito dump project
• Fair Lawn Church - For His Children Orphanage
• Kensington Community Church - Por Amor Foundation and Montañita Children’s Home
• Woodside Bible Church - Buen Pastor School
• Wellesley Village Church- For His Children Orphanage
• North Point Community Church - Haven of Love & Por Amor
• St. Paul’s - Por Amor Foundation
• Good Shepherd Lutheran Church - For His Children Orphanage
• Providence Christian Academy - Quito Dump daycare center
• University South Carolina - nursing students helping at various Ecuador projects
• Calvary Church in Souderton - New Friends (Nuevos Amigos)
• Fountain of Life Lutheran Church - Bread of Life (Pan de Vida)
• Water’s Edge Bible Church - building a home for a dump family
• Westside Church of Omaha - building a home for a dump family
• Glenkirk Presbyterian Church - For His Children Orphanage
• Lifetree Adventures - Quito Dump project

Thank you, teams, for all your hard work and encouragement!

making friends with one of the children from the dump daycare center

North Point Community Church Team

painting the dump daycare walls

fixing the steps to the playground at the dump

Providence Christian Academy Team

handing out food to the night workers at the dump

Here’s the latest news from Extreme Response partner, House of Hope, located in Port-de-Paix, Haiti…

The House of Hope in Haiti has begun to receive children who lost their parents in the earthquake and have no relatives who are able to care for them. Two young boys flew up from Port-au-Prince last week. Magloire (14 years) and Carlo (12 years) are cousins who will be staying at the House of Hope for the foreseeable future. When we first met them at the airport, they were very afraid and sad. They seemed so small and lost. I’m sure the thought of flying on an airplane with two strangers and leaving all that was familiar to them, was a frightening thing, indeed! We did start to become friends, though, when we gave them a sandwich, a drink and some Cheezies. The boys seemed to enjoy their first ride on an airplane, smiling the entire way, and they have settled in so well at the House of Hope. All of the other children have made them feel welcome and they are already part of the routines and life here. They look happy and confident…very different than the two scared little boys that we met just last week. The House of Hope has made a huge difference in their lives in just a few short days.

Another new arrival to the House of Hope family is little Carly who is 15 months old. Her parents were both killed in the earthquake while she remained buried under the rubble for several hours. A neighbor managed to pull her to safety and get her the care that she needed. Little Carly had 2 broken legs and several cuts and she has spent the last several weeks in a hospital in PAP. Carly arrived at the House of Hope on Sunday and, understandably, she was very unsettled. She must have had a dad who was very involved with her care because, at first, she would go to boys much easier than girls. Once again, the entire HOH family has gone out of their way to make her feel welcome and coax some smiles out of her. Everyone from the older kids to the younger ones can be seen carrying Carly around or offering her toys. 3 days after arriving at the HOH, Carly is much more calm, more settled, less anxious…and the smiles are not so hard to come by. The HOH family is now Carly’s family and, from our perspective, they all take this very seriously and really know how to “be” a family.

The Woodside women - plus ER leaders Ed and Dawn

A team of 9 women from Woodside Bible Church in Troy, Michigan travelled to Cape Town, South Africa to work with ER partner Living Hope. The team worked with over 350 women (and a few men) from the Living Hope Support Groups. These support groups exist to support those dealing with HIV, AIDS and other illnesses. Each of the 4 support groups meet in various townships in the Fish Hoek area. Most of the women they worked with are HIV+. The team did a wonderful job empowering, encouraging and loving these women who have known so much sickness, poverty, death and abuse in their lives. (for more information on Living Hope go to: www.livinghopeusa.org)

They also had the opportunity to encourage the 25 women (and a couple men) at the New Beginnings Development Center in the Woodstock area of Cape Town (www.newbdc.com). These women are enrolled in a free training course for unemployed people. The goal is to train, educate and empower individuals in an effort to alleviate poverty. The Woodside ladies had a great time getting to know the New Beginnings students.

Thank you Woodside Ladies!

House in the Masiphumelele Township

Woodside team member Deb with 2 of the ladies

Meeting at New Beginnings

Red Hill Township

The meeting at Red Hill

Christina makes a new friend at Ocean View

Extreme Response welcomes Calvary Church of Pennsylvania to Quito this week! A team of 18 adults is here working in partnership with the El Inca Church. This group is building a 120-seat auditorium for a new church in the La Paz community, just north of Quito. Each day the team is busy mixing and pouring concrete as well as welding the steel roof trusses. A team of nationals will continue with the roof structure and corrugated panels once the team has finished their week. A special thanks to team leaders Steve Kirsch and Norm Emery, as well as each of the team members for serving in Ecuador!

Submitted by Bill Hedrick- Teams Coordinator

You would have enjoyed being with us on Friday afternoon! Nearly 200 kids gathered at Kindle with great anticipation. They knew what they had come for! A few weeks ago they had been promised new uniforms, and today was the day for the promise to be fulfilled. Every occasion is a chance for celebration and teaching, so we started with some songs. Then Mr Mbena, head of the Education Department who has been overseeing this project, gave a speech about the importance of taking care of the uniforms. Here are some of his comments: These uniforms are for wearing to SCHOOL! You do not wear them to dig for mice in the fields (boys like to eat these for snacks!) You do not wear them for going to market. You must not take them and sell them. These may sound like strange instructions, but all very appropriate! He also explained again how important it is for children to stay in school these days. Education will give them an opportunity for a future!

It took a few hours to get everyone outfitted, but finally the group changed from rather grubby looking kids to smart looking school boys and girls. I hope you enjoy the few photos I have attached. You will notice that there are 3 different uniforms as we have children in 3 different schools. Most of them are the blue and yellow. Some are maroon and white, and a few blue and white.

Finally, all of the children say thank you very much! Like this: “Zikomo kwambiri chifukwa cha mayunifomu atsopano. Mulungu akudalitseni!” (Thank you very much for the new uniforms. May God bless you!”)

On behalf of all the children at Kindle, I too say Thank You!

Sincerely,
Marilyn Barr
Kindle Orphan Outreach

Thanks so much to Ali Rubenstein and the Student to Student Malawi School Uniform Program!!!

Pan de Vida (Bread of Life) started a micro-business pilot program a June. The program aims to train people in the program to start and maintain their own business that would eventually generate an income for their families. They are making beautiful aprons and mittens to sell.