Christmas 2022 Newsletter
Bienvenidos
Welcome to this Christmas 2022 Newsletter which keeps you up to date with everything that has been going on lately in the Martin Chambers Ecuador Trust charity.
Our TV screens have been ravaged this year by the war and violence in Ukraine. It has been shocking to see the threats and the violence day after day. Of course, we know, in our mind’s eye, that there is also violence in many other parts of our world. Sadly our friends in Ecuador have also been living through terrible times recently.
A wave of insecurity has gripped the country with people’s daily lives being affected by attacks and by intimidation. This is on top of the poverty that has taken greater hold of people’s lives and finances as they recover from the pandemic.
The work, therefore, of this Ecuador Trust becomes clearer as we strive to give people hope in the midst of their fear. The hope they receive from us may come in the shape of a bag of shopping, a proper meal or in the shape of a decent education; but it is hope in great measure. Let’s continue that support!
Message from Adela Villacres
State of Emergency
Dr. Luiz Arzube School
Sagrada Familia School
Abandoned Communities in Portoviejo
Soup Kitchen
Heroes for the Trust
Ecuador Trust 200 Club
2022 Christmas Cards
And Finally…
Message from Adela Villacres
Hello my dear friends of Ecuador Trust, I take this opportunity to tell you a little about the situation of our beloved Ecuador. After two years of Covid-19 pandemic, many families were left without work and, as you will know through the media, we have also suffered very hard times socially due to the rise in crime.
However, we are very convinced that, through the grain of sand that you send us, our children now know that they do have a future, that they have the hope of a tomorrow, full of dreams and illusions.
Mocha’s Gracias.
State of Emergency
One of the factors that has shaped life recently in Ecuador has been the great insecurity that the people have had to live with. During the past two years there have been prison riots throughout the country with the largest riots by far being those in the Guayaquil prisons where around 180 people were killed.
Martin Chambers explains: “Even from the comfort of my home in Scotland, I knew last year that these riots were serious and that the government had lost control for a time. The problem is that the prisons are largely run by drug barons and drug gangs. While I was in Ecuador recently, the Ecuador President decided it would be a good idea to move some of the gang leaders to another part of the country. This turned out to be a very bad decision as it caused riots that spilled out onto the streets where, in one night, 5 police officers were killed. The problem also is that the prison violence indeed has spread throughout the shanty towns where country and people are already very vulnerable. What happens is that ordinary people who live in the shanty towns are forced to join protection schemes’. This is a dreadful situation which causes distress amongst a people already dreadfully poor.
