Christmas 2023 Newsletter
Bienvenidos
Welcome to this Christmas 2023 Newsletter which keeps you up to date with everything that has been going on lately in the Martin Chambers Ecuador Trust charity. We all hope that the birth of the Christ child will bring you and your family much hope and deep love.
As you will be aware from the news bulletins, Ecuador has been gripped in recent years by a very dangerous drugs war. For many years the country was a peaceful haven between Colombia and Peru but now Ecuador has been dragged into the drugs trade with the city of Guayaquil becoming a major trading port. And the fear and intimidation that goes along with the drugs war has spilled into the communities and streets that we know only too well through this Ecuador Trust. Communities like Nueva Prosperina have become centres of violence and fear.
However, in recent days a new President, Daniel Noboa, has been sworn in with promises of hope and peace. Let us pray that this Christmas will bring our friends in Ecuador the peace, hope and joy that they long for.
Marcelo’s World
Retiral of Head Teacher
Sagrada Familia School
Dr Luis Arzube School
Remote Communities in Portoveijo
Soup Kitchens in Guayquil
Ecuador Trust 200 Club
And Finally…
Marcelo’s World
In the near future the Trust will be sending out an educational package to Primary schools around Scotland designed to highlight the work of the Trust and to promote wider community awareness of life in Ecuador.
The programme was designed by former teachers, Joe and Anne Sikora, and takes its name from Marcelo, a P6 student at Sagrada Familia de Nazareth school. The
materials provide teachers of P6/7 classes with a complete programme of learning covering certain key areas of the curriculum including language, social subjects, Spanish language, art and religious education.
As Joe explains:
“We designed the programme to give students the opportunity to learn about Ecuador and to explore what life is like for a young person, like them, who live in poverty in the shanty town of Nueva Prosperina. Through the programme pupils can explore the similarities and differences between Ecuador and Scotland and learn more about Marcelo and his family.”
Through ’Marcelo’s World’, the pupils will be able to see the type of ramshackle housing that many students who attend Sagrada Familia live in. They can also hear just overcrowded that housing can be, as Marcelo – in a video – lists off the huge number of extended family members who share the same home.
It is also an excellent opportunity for Primary students taking part in the Pope Francis Faith Award to act on their learning in a creative and charitable way. We thank Anne and Joe for all their hard work – it will certainly lead our pupils to understand the lives of families in a poorer part of the world.
