Recap: Ecuador Vision Trip 2018
Ed and Xochitl Andrade and their family recently traveled to Ecuador to visit the children at the San Vicente de Paul children’s orphanage in Quito to deliver Christmas gifts, and clothing for over 60 children, and develop connections for future visits to Ecuador through Unity 4 Orphans.
San Vicente de Paul is the most well established orphanage in Ecuador and has been around for over 45 years. As in Mexico and Nicaragua, orphanages in Ecuador are sustained by donations and do not receive much governmental support. The Ecuadorian government only provides 50 cents per month, per child. Two of Ed’s cousins were adopted from this orphanage!
Ed, Xochitl, and their family toured all areas of the San Vicente de Paul orphanage. The kids were very excited to receive their gifts and have visitors there to play with them. They do not receive many regular visitors. They also learned that many of the infants at the orphanage were either turned over to the police or abandoned in dumpsters.
There is a lot of opportunity at the San Vicente de Paul orphanage, at the neighboring school, at other poorer orphanages in the community, and throughout Ecuador in general for the kind of programs Unity 4 Orphans has piloted in Mexico and Nicaragua. Ed and Xochitl also registered Unity 4 Orphans with Ecuadorian customs to secure future visits and donations! We are excited about the connections they have made and are hopeful that we will be able to open new pathways for further involvement in this country!
Thank you to Ed and Xochitl for having the heart and the vision to plan this trip, love these kids, and connect Unity 4 Orphans with Ecuador!