We welcomed baby Amelia to our family at the end of June. We have been in the US awaiting her arrival and are grateful Grace and Amelia are healthy. Regan has been very generous in sharing her toys with Amelia. We plan to return to Ecuador at the end of the summer and can’t wait to introduce Amelia to everyone at the Mission.

Regan loves holding baby Amelia

Thanks to the generosity of our donors we launched a Scholarship Plus program for students in need of support on top of tuition assistance. With the help of a social worker assessing family situations, over 100 of our students are now receiving a ‘scholarship plus’. These scholarships cover tuition costs, but also provide school supplies and uniforms, financial help for transportation to and from school, and monthly food distributions.

In our university program, we enrolled several of our students in online English classes to increase employment opportunities after graduation. We acquired a house in Guayaquil that is now home to 5 of our female university students. The young women share how wonderful it is to have a common safe space to live while they focus on their studies.

Despite nationwide strikes that impacted all types of labor over the past few weeks, construction on our new classrooms continues. The walls and roofing are complete for the new classrooms that will be located upstairs, and progress continues for completing the downstairs space. Continue to follow our updates here or on our Classrooms for Change Campaign page.

Meet Cindy! Cindy joined our university program in 2022. She is a graduate of the Mission School, and comes from a very rural town in our area. 

Cindy is currently studying medicine at a university in Cuenca. She agreed to share a little about her education experience and what motivates her to study medicine in the interview below. 

Q: Tell us a little about yourself, your family, and your education up to this point. 

A: My name is Cindy Alejandro, I am 20 years old and I am from Sitio Nuevo. I have 6 brothers and sisters, my father is a farmer and my mother stays at home to take care of my siblings. I graduated from the Mission School in 2021. I loved my experience studying at the Mission School because of the values it incorporated into our education. I was grateful to get to know so many wonderful people including my teachers and friends, and I will always remember the experience as one of the happiest and best of my life.  

Q: Why did you want to go to university? 

A: I wanted to go to university in order to be able to study a high-level profession and degree. A university degree opens many doors when you seek employment, which is important for economic stability in the future. 

Q: Why did you want to study medicine? 

A: I am studying medicine because I really enjoy it. I want to be able to serve and help others as my vocation and profession. 

Cindy learning to perform emergency respiratory care in one of her practical labs at medical school.

Q: Until now, how many people in your family have attended and graduated university? 

A: I do not have any family members that have graduated from university. 

Q: How do you feel about starting university this year?

A: I am so happy to have started university and to be studying the career which I wanted to study most. I am very grateful to the foundation for giving me this opportunity. Medicine is not an easy major, but with effort, I know I can succeed and graduate.  

Cindy learning to identify different types of bacteria under the microscope.