OUR MISSION & VISION
ECUADOR QUILT, INC works with, and for, some of the most impoverished children and adults of Ecuador to improve their lives through financial and humanitarian support, including housing, education, food and health services. In collaboration with local Ecuadorian residents, other US individuals and organizations, and in concert with programs of the government of Ecuador, our work is non-profit, non-sectarian and apolitical.
OUR VISION - That adequate health care, nutrition, and relevant training and education will lift residents out of poverty to create a path to a self-sustaining future.
HOW WE STARTED - A small group of individuals in the United States, with expertise in the areas of medicine, nursing, legal, finance and construction, formed a not-for-profit organization. Working together beginning in 2000, the group incorporated in 2006 adopting the name ECUADOR QUILT, INC to represent the patchwork of love and hope they had begun to piece together throughout Ecuador.
ECUADOR QUILT founders witnessed severe malnutrition as well as the lack of adequate health care for its residents in their first visits to San Pablo, Ecuador. It was decided to focus on the country of Ecuador with projects completed in several villages and a strong concentration of resources supporting projects in San Pablo, a small village of approximately 7,500 inhabitants on the Pacific Ocean where we have a “man on the ground” to oversee them.
OUR VISION - That adequate health care, nutrition, and relevant training and education will lift residents out of poverty to create a path to a self-sustaining future.
HOW WE STARTED - A small group of individuals in the United States, with expertise in the areas of medicine, nursing, legal, finance and construction, formed a not-for-profit organization. Working together beginning in 2000, the group incorporated in 2006 adopting the name ECUADOR QUILT, INC to represent the patchwork of love and hope they had begun to piece together throughout Ecuador.
ECUADOR QUILT founders witnessed severe malnutrition as well as the lack of adequate health care for its residents in their first visits to San Pablo, Ecuador. It was decided to focus on the country of Ecuador with projects completed in several villages and a strong concentration of resources supporting projects in San Pablo, a small village of approximately 7,500 inhabitants on the Pacific Ocean where we have a “man on the ground” to oversee them.
WHO WE SERVE
POVERTY IN ECUADOR
SAN PABLO, ECUADOR
- Across the country of Ecuador, the distribution of wealth is highly skewed and close to four million people, more than 30%, live in poverty.
- Another 17% are vulnerable to poverty.
- Approximately 1.5 million Ecuadorians live in extreme poverty and cannot meet their own nutritional requirements even if they spend everything they earn on food.
- Ecuador has no welfare program and social support programs to help the poor in times of trouble are very limited.
SAN PABLO, ECUADOR
- In San Pablo, a fishing village on the coast of Ecuador, living conditions are very difficult. The community is primarily an indigenous group called Cholas. Until about fifteen years ago, their primary source of income was shrimp farming. At that time, a virus called Mancha Blanca infected the shrimp, devastating the local industry and shifting it to Asia. There has been no opportunity for this industry to recover in San Pablo.
- The entire community lives well below the poverty level and is malnourished. The children are especially vulnerable with many of them struggling to get by on one meal a day and many more dependent on day care centers and food kitchens for sustanance.
- A major local problem for this seaside community is the complete lack of fresh water available in the area. With San Pablo’s proximity to the ocean, the ground water contains saline. Rainfall is infrequent with no rain in some years. This limits industry and business opportunities.
- Currently, fishing is not an industry, but a way to augment a poor diet and feed the families.
Fr. Desmond Dalton
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Our liaison in San Pablo, Desmond Dalton, is a Catholic priest who has devoted his entire life to the service of the poor and less fortunate.
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TAX EXEMPT STATUS
EQUADOR QUILT, INC is a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c) (3)* of the Internal Revenue Code with 98% of all donations going directly to the charity. All members and officers of ECUADOR QUILT, INC are volunteers and all legal, accounting, administrative, travel and other expenses are borne, personally, by these officers and members. Any contributions or donations made by individuals or corporations to ECUADOR QUILT, INC are exempt from taxes.
*NO PART OF THE NET EARNINGS OF THE CORPORATION SHALL INURE TO THE BENEFIT OF, OR BE DISTRIBUTABLE TO, ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, MEMBERS OR OTHER PRIVATE PERSONS, EXCEPT THAT THE CORPORATION SHALL BE AUTHORIZED AND EMPOWERED TO PAY REASONABLE COMPENSATION FOR SERVICES RENDERED AND TO MAKE PAYMENTS AND DISTRIBUTIONS I FURTHERANCE OF ITS EXEMPT PURPOSES. EXCEPT AS OTHERWISE PROVIDED BY SECTIONS 501 (H) OF THE CODE, NO SUBSTANTIAL PART OF THE ACTIVITIES OF THE CORPORATION SHALL CONSIST OF CARRYING ON PROPAGANDA, OR OTHERWISE ATTEMPTING, TO INFLUENCE LEGISLATION. THE CORPORATION SHALL NOT PARTICIPATE IN, OR INTERVENE IN (INCLUDING THE PUBLISHING OR DISTRIBUTING OF STATEMENTS), ANY POLITICAL CAMPAIGN ON BEHALF OF (OR IN OPPOSITION TO) ANY CANDIDATE FOR PUBLIC OFFICE.
EQUADOR QUILT, INC is a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c) (3)* of the Internal Revenue Code with 98% of all donations going directly to the charity. All members and officers of ECUADOR QUILT, INC are volunteers and all legal, accounting, administrative, travel and other expenses are borne, personally, by these officers and members. Any contributions or donations made by individuals or corporations to ECUADOR QUILT, INC are exempt from taxes.
*NO PART OF THE NET EARNINGS OF THE CORPORATION SHALL INURE TO THE BENEFIT OF, OR BE DISTRIBUTABLE TO, ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, MEMBERS OR OTHER PRIVATE PERSONS, EXCEPT THAT THE CORPORATION SHALL BE AUTHORIZED AND EMPOWERED TO PAY REASONABLE COMPENSATION FOR SERVICES RENDERED AND TO MAKE PAYMENTS AND DISTRIBUTIONS I FURTHERANCE OF ITS EXEMPT PURPOSES. EXCEPT AS OTHERWISE PROVIDED BY SECTIONS 501 (H) OF THE CODE, NO SUBSTANTIAL PART OF THE ACTIVITIES OF THE CORPORATION SHALL CONSIST OF CARRYING ON PROPAGANDA, OR OTHERWISE ATTEMPTING, TO INFLUENCE LEGISLATION. THE CORPORATION SHALL NOT PARTICIPATE IN, OR INTERVENE IN (INCLUDING THE PUBLISHING OR DISTRIBUTING OF STATEMENTS), ANY POLITICAL CAMPAIGN ON BEHALF OF (OR IN OPPOSITION TO) ANY CANDIDATE FOR PUBLIC OFFICE.
