Agustin Tomala Foundation

The Foundation Agustin Tomala works to bring help and hope to people suffering with HIV/AIDS in the city of Guayaquil, Ecuador.

The Foundation does this through the following:

Home Visits: Every year the foundation visits each family at their home to see their needs and to build a stronger relationship.

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The Support Groups: hiv-support-group The Foundation provides three support groups. Once a week the foundation provides a support group to those living with HIV and to the guardians and grandmothers who are affected by the virus. The foundation gives different workshops on self-esteem, health, women, etc. They also have an opportunity to speak with a psychologist.

The newest support group is for young teenage mothers who are living with HIV. The foundation is providing different workshops for the young girls – giving them opportunities to learn how to cut hair, paint nails and make balloon arrangements for parties, etc. hiv-teen-mom-support-group

Small Business Assistance: Mundo Magico de Colores (The Magical World of Colors) was formed to help provide an opportunity for possible job opportunities. This has helped the grandmothers earn a meager living. These grandmothers are the primary caregivers of their grandchildren because their own children have passed away from AIDS.

Prevention: One of the goals of the foundation is to help in the prevention and education of the HIV/AIDS. Each year the foundation gives workshops on different themes related to HIV/AIDS. This year they worked with a project called Una Luz en la Ruta del Sol (A light in the Route of the Sun). This project took place in the Cadeate community where there are more new cases of people living with HIV than anywhere else in the city. They worked with over 50 youth on different topics as sexuality, drug and alcohol abuse and HIV/AIDS. The purpose was to educate these young people so that they could return to their own communities and in turn, educate others.

Agustin Tomala is one of the only foundations that help children living with HIV and affected by the virus. They help over 60 children per year with camps and vacation programs. The foundation formed the RED Adolescentes to educate teen as future leaders, teach them about sexual integrity and promote prevention in STD and HIV/AIDS.