Dear Supporters:
Season's Greetings from our teams in Ecuador and the United States!
We are thrilled to share the fruits of our work in this 2021 Impact Report. Thanks to God for His provision and the partnership of our supporters, the Maria Lida Foundation has continued to make a positive impact in the Alausí, Ecuador region.
We so grateful for your support of our cause, especially during the past two years. Our organization wishes you and your family a safe, blessed, and Merry Christmas/Holiday Season, and looks forward to continuing to make great things happen in 2022!
Sincerely,
The Maria Lida Foundation
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Nizag Community Project
This year we continued our work with the local Nizag indigenous community. Through this project, we helped the community evaluate their business strategy for the Condor Monument tourism site, improve systems for gathering tourism analytics, and assist with their marketing/social media management.
Results for this project include:
250 hours of consulting
6,080 visitors at Nizag's Condor Monument site
$6,080 community tourism revenue
1,500 social media followers
For more information on the Condor site, visit:
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Ryan's ASK Program
In response to community feedback, we launched a new program, Ryan's ASK (Alausí Scholarships for Kids), to provide tuition scholarships for students to attend the local San Francisco de Sales (SFS) school. Due to COVID19, many parents had to withdraw their children from the school as they could no longer afford the tuition costs. This has greatly impacted children's education and how many teachers and staff the school can continue to employ.
Results of this program include:
17 students sponsored for the 2021-2022 school year
2 SFS staff members were able to stay on board
$17,000 invested/remained in Alausí community
Our sincerest thanks to Paul and Jamie Hammer for spearheading this program and all sponsors of this initiative. May God bless you for your generosity!
If you would like to participate in this cause, please click on the link below:
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"The Association of Condor Puñuna would like to thank the Maria Lida Foundation in Alausí for their constant support to develop community tourism. We would like to especially thank Jorge Mora and his team. Cheers to Condor Puñuna and Cheers to the Maria Lida Foundation!"
-Association of Condor Puñuna
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Click on the picture above to view a video testimonial of our work with this community.
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Ecuador Homecoming
We plan to launch a new initiative, Ecuador Homecoming, in 2022! The goal of this mission is to celebrate Ecuador and people who have a connection to the country and currently living in the United States.
Ecuador Homecoming's vision is to sponsor a weeklong, adventurous trip to Ecuador (including Alausí) that will help the local businesses and economy get back on their feet in the aftermath of COVID19.
Prayerfully, this trip will take place in late June until early July 2022. If you are interested in attending or learning more about this wonderful project, you may contact us at admin@marialidafoundation.org.
Please stay tuned for additional details on this exciting initiative! We are continuously monitoring safety and travel advisories.
You can learn more information by visiting:
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English Program
Due to the pandemic, we had to temporarily pause our adult English program as there were many constraints facing our students and teachers. However, we are thrilled that we resumed our program virtually in May, and our Third Cohort officially graduated from our Program in September!
Congratulations to our students and staff in Ecuador for achieving this milestone! They have shown us what perseverance looks like, and we are grateful for their commitment to education.
Program Results Include:
124 hours spent on our English program in 2021
97 hours of English instruction provided in 2021
550 plus hours of total instruction provided since English program launched
50 plus students served since English program launched
Many thanks to all who have supported this flagship program. We are grateful to God and each of you for the ability to invest in the future of Alausí!
If you would like to contribute to this initiative, please click on the link below:
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Click on the picture above to view a video testimonial (in English!) of Rosita, one of our English students. |
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"I am happy to have studied English to teach my family and my students. I want to invite those who want to learn English to do so. It is very important to know another language in life. Thank you all very much for the opportunity. I love you very much. Friends forever!"
- Rosita, English student
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¡Vamos Azul!
We have a special message from football player, Jake Butt:
"In this current state of our world the more we can help those around us the better. Maria, she's smiling down, she's happy with what's going on with the work being put out and the goodness that the light in this Foundation is shining in the world... Congratulations to everyone in the Maria Lida Foundation, congratulations to everyone involved, thank you ahead of time to all people donating and participating in this great cause...God Bless and Go Blue!"
-Jake Butt, former University of Michigan, Denver Broncos, and Chicago Bears football player
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Partnerships
In 2021 we have sustained and expanded partnerships to support our mission of promoting self-sustaining economic development in Ecuador. This includes organizations in Ecuador and the Untied States such as:
- Alausí Tours
- Municipality of Alausí, Ecuador
- Nizag Indigenous Community
- Pueblo Magico Alausí
- San Francisco de Sales school
- Solis Family
- Tia Supermercado in Alausí
- Tourism Department of Alausí
- Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri
We greatly appreciate our partners joining our important cause in Ecuador!
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"I would also like to thank your hard but fruitful work for providing us with so many scholarships. This will provide some relief to so many poor families that wish their children attended our school, but they do not have the means to do so. You have all made it possible for many kids to receive an education with Christian values, and because of that I want to say God Bless the Maria Lida Foundation, all of its members, and to everyone that through you make for Alausí to be a better place."
- Sor Hilda, Mother Superior of San Francisco de Sales school
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Click on picture above to view a special video testimonial of the Mother Superior of the San Francisco de Sales School, Sor Hilda.
(photos used with permission)
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Virtual Fundraiser and Giving Tuesday Events |
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We held our second virtual fundraiser in October! It was an exciting event with special messages from our partners in Alausí, raffle prizes, a lively auction, and surprise message from Jake Butt!
Thank you very much to all who attended and our event sponsors including:
In addition, recently it was #GivingTuesday, a day where many around the world participate in charitable causes. You may view our #GivingTuesday campaign on our social media pages.
If you were unable to participate in our Virtual Fundraiser or #GivingTuesday campaigns, but would like to make a contribution to the Maria Lida Foundation, you may do so by clicking on the link below:
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Maria Lida Foundation Team Highlight |
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"The opportunity to work and serve vulnerable communities in Ecuador to promote socioeconomic development in Alausí is a mission with a special place in my heart. Investing in communities by implementing educational programs is key to catalyze change and promote a new way of innovating based on the principle of empathy."
-Jorge Mora, Ecuador Country Director of the Maria Lida Foundation
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Contribute to our cause as part of your year-end giving by clicking on the "DONATE NOW" button below.
Donations will be used in 2022 to:
- Scale English program
- Expand business consulting services
- Launch Ecuador Homecoming initiative
- Enhance SiAlausi.com project
- Continue COVID19 relief efforts as needed (including Ryan's ASK program)
The Maria Lida Foundation is a
501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in which contributions may be tax-deductible.
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Stay up to date on our impact by visiting our website and following us on
Instagram and Facebook!
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