Ecuador

The gift of a smile

In order to support children suffering from cancer, this year we worked together with two non-for-profit organizations: Brave Hearts (Corazones Valientes) in Quito and Ronald McDonald House in Guayaquil. These organisations provide economic support to families who don͛t have the necessary resources to pay for proper treatment for their children.

Our mission was to host an entertaining, fun experience so that the children could forget about the difficulties that they are facing with their families, if only for a short while.

Thirty volunteers from Aspen Ecuador participated in the exciting activities. The team prepared two theater plays with positive messages such as "Every single person in the world is very special and even more important, no matter their size, age, or skin coluor... we all have a very significant place on earth." Our acting skills were greatly motivated by those little ones who showed smiles in their faces and cheered our efforts to help them have a good time. After the theatrical performances, we provided the children and their parents a delicious meal. Most of the kids wanted to get pictures with the different characters from the plays and we were only too happy to oblige.

In Guayaquil, makeup artists painted the infant͛s faces, entertained them and also enjoyed a fun-filled time with them. The children learnt more about Mandela Day and the importance of giving back to others.

Through a campaign called ͚Chanchito Valiente͛ (Brave Piggy), which was launched in May 2018, we also collected US$831.00 USD, which was shared between the two organisations.

The experience of participating in the activities left the team with precious memories that we will cherish forever.