The reason 2 Hands was set up was as a result of meeting up with an Ecuadorian family living in Telford. After the task of becoming registered with the Charities Commission and all the other legal requirements, Douglas (another Trustee) and I set off for Ecuador to agree on a couple of projects.
It will give you a flavour of our experiences and the two projects we decided to take on were:
⦁ Escuela Familia de Nazareth Primary School, Nueva Properina, Guayaquil, Ecuador
⦁ Escuela Familia de Nazareth Medical Centre, Nueva Properina, Guayaquil, Ecuador
⦁ 1 Escuela Familia de Nazareth Primary School, Nueva Properina, Guayaquil, Ecuador
750 Children were attending a primary school daily that was situated on a steep hillside. This was no ordinary school, but one made of bamboo, no windows and a corrugated roof. No running water or toilets. However, even more, challenging was the regularity that this little school was washed away with the rains. The summer (hot season) was also challenging, made of bamboo with no windows, it was dark and damp. This was our first project – to replace the school with one made of concrete and provide toilet facilities for the children.
On our return home from Ecuador, we set about fundraising and begged for grants from Trustee groups. We converted this:
To this:
A 2-story concrete block consisting of 8 classrooms, toilet and washing facilities, a room for the Head Teacher, and a staff room. This new build greatly alleviated the problems that both the rainy and hot seasons brought to the children in the bamboo huts and gave them an ideal learning environment! One of the most incredible factors for this project was the cost. For just £39,000 we provided a fully-equipped school – real value for money. “It was with great pride,” said Adele the Head Teacher “that the school was inaugurated and opened for business in time for the start of the new term at the beginning of April – there are many happy pupils who would like to say THANK YOU!!”
It was with great pride that 2 Hands saw the Plaque of Recognition for the contribution made.
- Escuela Familia de Nazareth Medical Centre, Nueva Properina, Guayaquil, Ecuador
In the same shanty town as the school was a great need for a medical centre so our second project was to refurbish a dilapidated small building into a centre that would serve 70,000 people and provide desperately needed healthcare, medical advice, primary healthcare education and treatment on their doorsteps at rock bottom prices – a safe alternative to the local Witch Doctor! The cost of the rebuild amounted to £25,000 including fittings.
Transforming this:
To this:
