YMCA & KLL in Ecuador
The YMCA in Surrey has had a relationship with the YMCA in Ecuador for about the past 5 years or so. When we asked what the Y would need they expressed a need to have safe child friendly facilities to deliver programs to kids 0 to 5 years old. Some time was spent trying to figure out the best design for the "Community Centers" and that ended up being 6-sided cinder block buildings; think the size of a garage. The 6 sides gives areas for different classes to operate at the same time. This design has proven to work; the Y has now built 13 centers in Ecuador. For the first time this past June the Y built centers in the coastal city of Machala. It is not a city that tourists flock to but I bet the bananas in your kitchen came through Machala. It is the banana capital of Ecuador. And that's where we've now left a little piece of the Kerrisdale Little League. Your jerseys have truly found a welcome home. I must confess I think they'll wear them more for soccer than baseball but you never know!
For 2 weeks in June, 12 Canadian volunteers, from retired folks to firefighters, partnered with YMCA staff in Ecuador and Mothers of the children living in the barrios to build 3 community centers with small playgrounds in communities where there is no patch of green or set of swings to play on. We each brought as much as we could reasonably carry; school supplies, toothbrushes, soccer balls and of course jerseys, mitts and baseballs. The partnership was golden; we all worked hard and laughed hard, neither speaking the other's language. We now know the recipe for making cement; well...sort of, it changed daily! The work was so simply satisfying. At the dedication ceremony at the end of our 2 weeks there was not a dry eye to be found! Hearts were warmed. I hope the pictures can give you some idea of what you helped support and just how valued your support was. Thank you so much.