Over one and a half years working here in Ecuador with GVI Project Phoenix and our 3 indigenous communities and I have still to summit the surrounding volcanoes!

 

And so here it is my friends - the ‘3 Peak Otavaleñan Charity Challenge’. With the goal of raising funds for our project here I will be summiting all 3 of the volcanoes we see each day at school. Fuya Fuya, Imbabura and Cotacachi. The highest of these will take me to over 4,900 metres - way up there in the Andes!  (see our blog for more details!)

 

I have started my training thanks to the Canadian SAS - (I will save that story for another time!) - up at 5.30am before school you will find me doing press ups, sit ups and star jumps (yup you better believe it!). This month I start my running (dread!) - 2x a week round the local college track - with the aim to slowly work my way up to 5k. This is all on top of the half hour walk to school up at 3200m. Come August I will be ready to face the challenge oh yes! 

 

So why am I signed up to this challenge???

 

Over the last 6 months here we have successfully: delivered over $3,500 dollars of food to school; implemented a new first grade curriculum across two schools; continued to support our 20 collegio students through high school; completed our stoving programme in Muenala; bought 11 cows and built two cuy houses (Plan Cuy and Plan Moo) - part of my last fundraising efforts! 

 

This is addition to teaching our 90 children in primary school.

 

In my first 3 months as Project Manager I have been working closely with the communities and this following school year we hope to raise $9,000. This money will go towards:

 - supporting those graduating this year ($150 / student per year or 75 regular lattes from Starbucks);

 

- building a new kitchen at Huairapungo; rolling out Plan Cuy (Guinea Pig breeding houses) at Muenala;

 

- sponsoring a music and dance teacher and;

 

- saving up for an emergency fund to support natural disasters due to landslides, drought etc.,

 

 

Thank you so much for your continued interest in my work with the GVI Phoenix project here in the Ecuadorian Andes - once I have recovered from the 'Peaks' I look forward to putting your cash to good use!

 

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