More Pictures!!!

Digging trenches came along with the digging of the holes

It was required that we dig the holes first before we dig the trenches, the holes had to be 150 from the position line and the trenches were 130 (I believe). However, the digging of the trenches would always fill back in the holes so digging them back out was always a pain.

This is a picture of the community again except in daylight and on the last day that we were there. I'm the one in the black tank top with the mouse on it on the leftish side of the picture.

Most of the time the holes were too small to efficiently dig them out with a shovel... therefore we used our hands... or at least I did!

The house in the background is the current living conditions that they currently live in. The houses are open to the wild and are not very stable during bad weather conditions. Here you see the lots of two properties and therefore also two houses that are back to back.

Those tools were heavy... not something I used often, more for my partner.

It's a concrete picture! I don't look so great in it but the mixing of the concrete looks awesome. The reason why there's only one of these pictures is because we only spent one morning (the last morning) on mixing concrete and filling in those holes and trenches... oh man was mixing concrete heaven after five days of digging...

Everyone is working together, this is probably one of the best pictures were you see our group and the community chipping in together to try and get it all done!

Super cute and social girl. Her name was Natalie. The crown on her head was courtesy of one of the group members in HLD (he's the one that's mostly cut out of the picture)... she and all the other kids really enjoyed his gifts.

Pictures Round One

As the pictures of the trip slowlyyyyy, come in I will be posting them here. Thank you very much to everyone that has donated to this wonderful cause. If you have my facebook or are connected to someone with my facebook you can get more photos (of other parts of the trip too) there.

I'm the one that is obnoxiously yellow with the giraffe on my hoodie. This was the welcome party where we got to meet the community for which we were building the houses for for the first time.

Top of the Shiva that we used to get to the volunteer site everyday.
Center of the picture, black shirt and off white (?) pants

That hole that I'm on my hands and knees trying to clear when up to about my hips... we were about 30 cm too shallow at the time...

Candles for a Cause

Some of you may already have heard of this project, but right now, right here, it will be officially launched.

Candles for a Cause

A set of 2 pillar type candles for $10
Available colours: Burgundy, Peach, Green, Light Blue, Dark Blue, Gray

All orders should either be stated in the comment section or emailed to kim.tknp92@yahoo.ca!

Pocket Full of Cranes

Many of you know how often and how much time I spend folding cranes so it's time for me to put it to good use. Check it out! If your interested put in a comment or send me an email to kim.tknp92@yahoo.ca with the number of cranes (or turtles) and the type of paper (if applicable).

Pocket Full of Cranes

10 cranes on patterned paper for $2.50
50 cranes on patterned for $11.00
100 cranes on patterned for $20.00
500 cranes on recycled paper for $80.00 (bonus: free set of candles)
500 cranes on patterned for $85.00 (bonus: free set of candles)
1000 cranes on recycled paper for $150.00 (bonus: 2 sets of candles)
1000 cranes on patterned for $160.00 (bonus: 2 sets of candles)

Extra! Will also make turtles (up to 100 order) for the same prices!

Video

The following video is about what I will be doing particularly as part of the first group that will be going down to Ecuador this year as shown by the group that went in May 2009... the video is a little bit long though but the main point is that I will be digging... lots of digging

Thank You For Clicking The Link!

Dear Supporter:

Help, Learn and Discover is an organization that offers a 3-fold program that provides students the opportunity to Help those less fortunate, Learn about and gain firsthand experience in a specific academic area of interest, and Discover the diverse terrains of Ecuador during a tour of the country.

As part of the Help aspect of the program, I will be travelling with a group of students this summer to the small village one hour out of the city of Salinas to build houses for underprivileged families. It is our intention that the relief of owning a home will relieve the burden placed upon the children of these families to work instead of attending school. We hope that our help will allow these children to have the opportunity to attend school, thereby furthering their education and increasing their livelihood.

Last year with everyone’s support the students were able to help build 22 homes in a village named Chunchi. The total cost of the homes was approximately $108,000 to construct and each consisted of two bedrooms, one washroom, a kitchen and a living quarter. This year our plan is to surpass the help provided in the past. However, in order to achieve our goals we must fundraise the necessary amount of money to be able to complete our project. 100% of the money we raise goes directly to the purchase of materials to build the homes.

If you would like to make a personal donation, you can donate in cash, write a check, or donate via Paypal. Your support would be greatly appreciated and will go a long way towards contributing to the lives of those less fortunate.

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. As one of our sponsors, we will personally let you know how we do.

Regards,

Kim Nguyen-Phuoc

Team Member – May 2012
Help Learn and Discover

Making a Difference!