In March, 2010, I asked Freddy Soto if he ever accepted volunteers to work alongside him with Los Canarios Futbol Club, and he said, “yes.” And so began thoughts and ideas about bringing volunteers from Steinbach to Puerto Lopez. Eleven students in grades 11 and 12 at the Steinbach Regional Secondary School were able to convince their parents that it was a good idea for them to go south for three weeks and learn to walk alongside young people who were being encouraged to stay in school, avoid alcohol and drug abuse and promiscuity.
When New Year’s Eve arrives, it will be 11 years since those volunteers arrived in Puerto Lopez, followed by almost 190 more over the years. Three weeks, sometimes six weeks, sometimes 11, sometimes 25 volunteers coached soccer, held, fed and played with babies and under four years in three different daycares, then came construction of floors, walls and homes damaged by the earthquake, reading and art classes with elementary kids and finally a reading program on the street made up our “work.”
When 22 of the 25 young people with whom we started working graduated from high school, an unheard-of number of people staying in school, we added financial support so that those who wanted to could consider attending university. We extended our circle of support to those we encountered during our time in Puerto Lopez and now the end of this project, at least this iteration of it, is in sight.
Good News Community Church adopted the Manitoba to Ecuador Project in fall of 2011 and have ever since offered us non-charitable status for all donations. Their encouragement and support has allowed almost 200 volunteers to spend time trying to make a difference. Their sponsorship of this project has resulted in profound changes in the lives of many people in Puerto Lopez. On December 31st they are closing their doors and I want to express my extreme gratitude to Wally Doerksen (RIP my friend) and Neil Rempel for what they have contributed toward. As of now, there is no new route to charitable status so the Manitoba to Ecuador Project, as it has existed, will also be no more.
Was it worth it? Did Manitoba to Ecuador make a difference? Let me share some before-along the way-after stories about some of people and experiences along the way:
Kleber was 12 when we first came. He was always smiling, laughing, joking around, and running full-tilt on the soccer pitch. He was quick to lend a helping hand with whatever was happening and always eager to learn – new moves on the soccer pitch, English, how to support others. He came to Steinbach to study English for one semester when he was 15. “I was so young, I did so many bad things, but my life was changed by my time there. I had never eaten a meal with my family in Puerto Lopez. I never sat at a full table, held hands to pray, and spend time together with a family before I was in the Warkentine’s home. I had never seen such love and care for one another,” Kleber commented to me. “I hope that you, they, can forgive me for the stupid things I did when I was there. I want them to know that I model my family after theirs. I pray with my wife, with my child, we eat together. My wife needs a few more semesters to finish her degree in psychology. I need a few more semesters to finish my degree in English. I hope to teach English to children, to coach soccer with children, to make a positive difference in their lives like you did in mine.” Kleber is still quick to smile, to laugh, to help others and concluded by telling me, “I don’t know who I would be now if I hadn’t known Manitoba to Ecuador. That project was so good, it changed many lives for the better. I gave up my dreams of being a professional footballer so I could help to care for my brothers, to help train and support other young people who need a positive example in their life.”
Stalin was another 12-year-old when we arrived in town. Stalin’s smile was a constant beam of happiness and good cheer. He played soccer with the same animation he approached the rest of life. When he was in Steinbach with Ronaldo and Yonathan, they delivered the first of three provincial soccer championships to the SRSS with teams spearheaded by Ecuadorean All-Stars. He hit a rough patch when he returned to Ecuador after his semester in Steinbach as his father, who had been dry for quite a few years, had found the bottle again. Stalin had to be the “man of the house” in many ways and supported his father in his work selling shrimp. When Covid-19 started battering Puerto Lopez Stalin was the person who stepped up and asked if there was anything that could be done to help his community. When the Grace Mennonite Church community started pouring relief money into Puerto Lopez, Stalin was part of the team that purchased food, repackaged it into food hampers, then delivered those life-lines to 1500 families on three different occasions over the next two-three months. He’s desperately seeking work in a town where there isn’t much available as he wants to support his wife and three-year-old daughter.
Maria-Belen was a smiling, giggling, high school student in the early 2010s. She was one of 10 children whose father had just died and whose family had difficulty seeing their way to putting food on the table or pursuing anything other than menial work in an attempt to sustain a future. When she graduate from high school, she along with her sister, Gissela, applied to nursing school at the University of Jipijapa and with the support of Manitoba to Ecuador scholarships over the years, the two of them earned their nursing degrees. They have just completed their final practicum and licensing exams and are now fully accredited nurses looking for work. Women rarely get the opportunity to attend university due to cultural expectations and extremely limited familial resources, but with help, they made it and are now ready to help take care of their own families.
Joel was losing his vision because his family could not afford the surgery required to arrest the deterioration. Manitoba to Ecuador provided the money for his (five) sight-saving surgeries. He lives up to his middle name, Jesus, in that he ‘is the hands and feet of Jesus in the hear and now” (quote from Romero, Archbishop of San Salvador) by being available to provide food, medicine and clothing to those in need around him.
Carlos was born with correctible eye conditions, but like Joel’s family, his family couldn’t afford the surgery. Once again people in Steinbach responded to the expressed needs and donated all the money to make his surgeries possible. Joel’s words of wisdom to Carlos were, “when you go to school with eyes that look just like everyone else’s, suddenly you will have friends. People will accept you because you are no longer different than them.” Those words proved to be true and Carlos’ final year in high school was totally different from his earlier experiences. After trying to find a clear path toward his own future, he has settled to studying tourism at the University of Jipijapa and is moving in a positive direction.
Myguel was studying civil engineering but didn’t see his way to completing his studies due to the financial hardships of his family; they needed him to work to buy the food, medicine and other needs of the family. When Manitoba to Ecuador offered a scholarship, it re-opened the door of studies for him. He completed his final practicum project last year and is now employed in his trained profession and can contribute to the financial needs of his family.
Josue was a star soccer player and strong student. When he came to study at the SRSS, not only did he improve his English, but contributed to another provincial championship for the SRSS soccer team. His play was noticed by three Manitoba universities who approached him about the possibility of him wearing their uniform the following season. Providence University College offered him a full scholarship so he chose them. He earned a degree in business administration while playing on their soccer team. During the summers, he worked with Rob Wiebe’s company, Kornerstone Masonry, to earn his non-tuition-covered expenses. After completing his degree, he continued to work for Rob; he continues to work for Rob, and is on the threshold of becoming a permanent resident of Canada. While working in Canada he has contributed hugely to the financial support and lives of his parents and two sisters who remain in Ecuador and provides work through his purchase and management of a tourism agency in Puerto Lopez along with his sister.
Nine-year-old Alex stared through the bars of his parents’ Tienda Gloria as one Canadian after another came to buy water, pop, and LOTS of ice cream treats. The next year he came out to play soccer on the street with us, when we presented his family with a signed Canadian flag as an expression of our friendship, he presented me with a stuffed Teddy Bear, a return sign of friendship. By the time he was 15 he attended game nights with us, accompanied us on various tours and began to demonstrate his heart of service. He was always considered those around him and making sure their needs were being met. When he was in his final year of high school and beginning to think about attending university the next year, I contacted Providence University College and asked them if they still sponsored students from developing countries. When I received an affirmative response, I helped Alex complete his application for the Providence Partnership Scholarship, which he received. On December 23rd, 2020 he left his family for the first time to come to Steinbach to begin his studies. He has spent one year learning English, in which he is extremely competent, and has now also completed his first year of university studies to earn a Bachelor’s Degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. His work ethic and dedication have resulted in such a high grade point average that he is earning additional scholarships! He continues to contribute to making life better for all those around him and is creating a future full of opportunities for himself.
The earthquake of April, 2016 destroyed so much! Officially only 700+ deaths reported to hide the horror of well over 2,000 deaths; thousands of homes destroyed, tens of thousands more homes damaged; people afraid to go back inside their damaged homes in case it collapses onto them; refugee camps filled with despair and mourning for months; and wondering if anyone would help. Manitoba to Ecuador came with 25 volunteers, each carrying two pieces of luggage weighed down with 50 pounds of clothing and medicine. We delivered reading and theatre programs to alleviate life in the refugee camps for the kids. The clothes were distributed to those who had nothing left. Medicine was given to those whose head and heart aches were great. The next spring 15 more volunteers came with almost $25,000 to repair damaged homes for those whom the government had for some reason had decided didn’t need help. It’s amazing how much work can be accomplished with $25,000! Bricks, mortar, rebar, boards, nails, roofing … and so much more was purchased and put together in the form of new walls, new floors, new roofs, new hope, and a safer space to live.
Then there’s Felipe, Yandry, Junior, Carlos, Darwin, Alex Gonzalez, Adrian Briones, Gabriel, Hector, the Villacresses family, the Cedeño family, the Choez family, the other Choez family, Matias, Christmas parties, community meals, food hampers, pizza parties, pool parties, playing in the waves, game nights, building walls, shared laughter and hugs, shared tears and farewells, so many lessons learned. Then there are all the Canadians who came, who saw, who learned to be neighbours and allow the impact of their time in Puerto Lopez to change them too.
I think I’ve been born again each time I come to Puerto Lopez and learn more about what it means to love my neighbour, to walk alongside and listen to them speak about their dreams and desires for life. Alex said, “I live in a town filled with so many smart people who cannot fulfill their dreams due to no access to the economics required.”
With this project I have attempted to help open doors of opportunity and so many of you have joined me in that endeavour. Without the support (aka donations) of so many people, the successes of this project could not have happened. As the doors of Good News Community Church close, as the opportunities that have existed over the past 11 years come to an end, I want to say a heartfelt thank you for all you have done! You have made dreams come true, you have restored sight, you have made an escape from poverty possible, you have put food into the bellies of people who didn’t know from where the next meal would arrive, you have put books into the hands of children, you have smiles onto faces and you have shown what it means to love your neighbour.
As I write this, I’m not quite ready to say goodbye to the Manitoba to Ecuador Project. There are still six students studying in university whom this project has supported. I hope to find a way, or two, of continuing some sort of support for them in the New Year. In 2011, my niece Miriam who came to Ecuador with me, when thinking about bringing young people from Ecuador to Steinbach, said, “don’t think of this as a dream, as that is too big. Think of this as a problem to be solved, and then let’s solve it.” I like the way she thinks! So I invite you to think with me about ways of not dreaming of continuing Manitoba to Ecuador, instead solving the problem of how to keep some people in school.
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