Happy Holidays

We would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone Happy Holidays and all the best in the coming year. We had a very successful 2011 and we are grateful once again to our supporters, volunteers and partners who have contributed to our past and present projects.

We look forward to working with all of you in the coming year in completing new projects that will improve the lives of those less fortunate in the world.

We wish you all a happy, healthy, peaceful and prosperous New Year!!

from the Isa Mundo Foundation.

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ps. 2011 also produced Isa Mundo's newest Mundoer - Sila Lacasse

Welcome Sila to Isa Mundo and may you continually teach us to be the change, you wish to see in the world.

Vallarta Nature

Mundoers were able to visit a potential new environmental health projects with the conservation group, Sociedad Ecologica de Occidente (Western Ecological Society) in the Bahia de Banderas area. We were able to meet with Mr. Oscar Aranda, a biologist who founded the organization and has dedicated his research and work to protect marine turtles and mammals and improve the environmental conditions in Mexico. Mr. Aranda was recognized as one of the CNN Heroes for Saving the Planet in 2010.

Isa Mundo will be assessing how we can collaborate with Mr. Aranda to support his present and future conservation projects in Mexico.

To learn more about the Sociedad Ecologica de Occidente - visit their website at www.vallartanature.org

To see the CNN Heroes Award video please click on CNN Heroes Award - Saving the Planet.

Volcanes Primary School Update

Isa Mundo was able to visit the Volcanes Primary School this month and also brought much needed educational supplies to the school. Mundoers were able to assess future needs at the school but also see the great progress since our last visit in April 2011.

The IMEC is now part of the overall Education Project in Volcanes and we hope to continue working in collaboration with the school and Cafe Roma to improve the centre and their project in 2012.

Sinacaban Central School

We are currently in discussion with the Principal at the Sinacaban Central School in Misamis Occidental, Philippines to develop the second Isa Mundo Education Centre (IMEC) in the country.

The school has a total enrollment of 384 pupils and 20 teachers. This is just a small central school with only 20 teachers. Although this is a complete elementary school with a graduation rate of 97%, there are still students who are not able to graduate due to poverty.

The objective of the IMEC in Sinacaban School will be to improve academic performance and increase computer literacy of students. Isa Mundo will continue the discussion with the school and assess the feasability of completing this project. We hope to find support for this project and help improve the education opportunities of students in this community.

New Website Design

Isa Mundo Foundation will be launching our newly designed website for 2012. Under the guidance of Gee Gen - www.geegen.com - the website design will have a new 'look and feel' and will be the most significant change since the initial development of the website in 2006.

We hope to launch the new website before end of the year! Stay tuned

The new Isa Mundo Postcard

As a follow up to this month's release of new promotional materials, we are releasing the foundation's new post card design. We would like to thank our Chair, Website and Graphic Design (Gee Gen) for her creativity and talent in developing the post card.

We will be releasing the template for our newly designed website in November. Stay tuned.

The new Isa Mundo Brochure

We have launched our new brochure outlining our history, projects and how to support our foundation. The new look and feel of Isa Mundo will also be highlighted in our new post card and website. We encourage you to print and distribute to your network.

Let us know what you think.

Thanks

IMEC Newsletter Report

We have completed our Isa Mundo Education Centre (IMEC) Final Report for 2011. The newsletter style report highlights the process of how the Global Education Fund grant was used to complete 3 projects in Nicaragua, Mexico and Philippines.

We would like to thank all our partners and volunteers for making 2011 a successful IMEC year.

Happy reading!

The Honda Way is The Right Way !!

The Isa Mundo Foundation would like to thank The Honda Way for supporting our projects in 2011. The Abbotsford based Honda dealership has been a consistent community contributor in the Lower Mainland region supporting various charitable organizations and facilities such as the Abbotsford Food Bank and the Canucks Place Children's Hospice in Abbotsford.

The Honda Way was able to identify a suitable transportation vehicle for Isa Mundo that allows us to pick up and drop off donation supplies to various partners and non profit organizations. The Hybrid vehicle fits well with the Foundation's focus on Environmental Health by reducing our carbon footprint while providing an economically and environmentally safe transportation.

By providing a discount to the Foundation, we were able to use the additional savings to help complete our education centre projects located in poor communities in Mexico, Nicaragua and Philippines. The funds were used to purchase basic school materials, computers and other educational tools. The Isa Mundo Education Centre represents a symbol of hope and gives young students equal access to educational tools that will enhance their learning opportunities and improve their situation in the future.

Thank you Honda Way for your contribution locally and globally to various communities.

To learn more about Honda Way and the services they provide, please visit their website at www.hondaway.com

Update IMEC in Ghana

Isa Mundo Foundation is partnering with Direct Assistance Network - Ghana to create our first Isa Mundo Education Centre in Africa.

As of this month, the freight containing computers, laptops and hardware are on their way to Ghana. All of these technological tools will be used to improve educational opportunities, especially for girls in rural Ghana.

Direct Assistance Network was founded with a mandate that 'education is the only way to end inequality and injustice as well as further hope for a better world. Not only is is a fundamental human right, it enhances lives and will end generational cycles of poverty and disease"

We are grateful for the opportunity to work in partnership with Direct Assistance Network in order to improve the educational opportunities of students in rural Ghana.

To learn more about this organization, read the Direct Assistance Network Brochure.

Bicycles for Humanity

We would like to highlight the work being done by Bicyles for Humanity (BFH).

BFH is a grassroots organization that works in partnership with many volunteers to ship containers of bicycles to Africa to improve mobility, gain access to food and water, efficient travel for medical help, travel to school and employment and "the first mode of transportation on their journey from poverty to a better life".

BFH knows that bicycle are one of the simplest transport technologies, they are affordable and can be maintained anywhere in the world with minimal tools and spare parts. In places where transport options are severely restricted, bicycles greatly improve personal mobility and enable people to determine their own schedules. But in the poorest communities in Africa, bicycles are still not affordable.

According to BFH, only a fraction of the rich world's bicycles are shipped to developing countries and millions of bicycles are discarded each year. BFH is working with various communities in Canada to gather bicycles to be shipped to Africa to improve the lives of families and communities.

You can learn more about the work BFH is doing by visiting their website at www.bicycles-for-humanity.org

Isa Mundo Madres!

Since 2006, we have committed in taking our time to acknowledge the support of all our volunteers and supporters in completing our various projects. Our friends, colleagues, families, businesses, and other non profit organizations have all been integral in progressing the work of Isa Mundo - without them, we will not be where we are today.

This month, we wanted to say a special thank you to the 'Madres' of Isa Mundo. These are mothers who continually donate used baby and children's clothes, toys and books to the Foundation. They are aware of the work we do in orphanages and children centred facilities in developing countries and these Madres have found ways to support our work despite their busy parenting schedules and responsibilities. These newborn and children's clothes/toys will be put to good use and are appreciated by all organizations we partner with.

We are grateful for the time our Madres are taking to sort, store and clean these clothes and toys - and we know that all less fortunate babies and children who receive them are forever grateful too. Yay for all the Madres of the world!

UPDATE - IMEC in Bambang, Philippines

After months of research and negotiating how to purchase supplies to expand the Isa Mundo Education Centre (IMEC) in Bambang, we have decided to purchase 3 additional desktops computers, projector screen and additional school supplies in Vancouver, BC with the help of our new friends at Staples Store #254.

We will be sending these tech supplies in two boxes via freight this month and should arrive in the Philippines by August. We hope that this will further improve the IMEC in Bambang which is our Foundation's first completed education centre project. Since 2009, the IMEC in Bambang has proven to improve students' grades by accessing world wide web educational resources and on-line information.

3rd IMEC in Mexico

The completion of the third Isa Mundo Education Centre (IMEC) project is underway in the Volcanes Primary School outside of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. After finalizing the purchase of brand new laptops and other supplies from our new friends at Staples Store #254, the next challenge was finding a way to ship the supplies to Mexico.

In partnership with Café Roma's Kids program, we will be using volunteers travelling to the Puerto Vallarta area in the next few months and requesting them to deliver each laptops to the school. We hope to have the IMEC in Volcanes completed by September 2011.

As always, we are grateful to all our volunteers who are continually doing their part to help complete our projects. The 3rd IMEC in Mexico would not be a success without your support and dedication. Muchas gracias!

Cathy Bélanger Award for Paul Lorilla

Isa Mundo Foundation's Director and Founder, Paul Lorilla was recently presented the Cathy Bélanger Award from the Deputy Minister of the Department of Canadian Heritage. This award honours a person who has made an exceptional contribution to his community as well as the as the Canadian Heritage workplace.

The statement from Canadian Heritage summarized that:

"Paul exemplifies the best of public service ideals and values. His commitment to excellence is reflected not only in his work with Canadian Heritage but also in his work with Isa Mundo, a private foundation that he started to ensure that healthy and sustainable communities could be achieved in all corners of the world. Paul works tirelessly to ensure that the poorest communities in the world see prosperity by bringing together people and resources in a way that maximizes impact. We have seen that same energy and dedication applied to his work with Aboriginal communities in Canada. In his work at Canadian Heritage, he invests significant time and energy mentoring and coaching other staff. As founder of Isa Mundo, Paul demonstrates great leadership in leading positive change."

Congratulations!!!

IMEC in Nica

We are happy to announce that a small Isa Mundo Education Centre (IMEC) was completed in Granada, Nicaragua in partnership with Empowerment International (EI). Isa Mundo was able to provide Acer netbooks to allow students to have access to technology as part of their learning environment. We will continue to find ways to support the expansion of this IMEC by providing additional tools such as education software and school supplies.

We would like to thank our volunteer, Neeraj Jain, for travelling to Nicaragua and working with EI to set up the IMEC. We are also grateful that he took his time to offer an orientation on basic computer and internet application skills to students.

Isa Mundo is committed to work with EI to improve student's access to technological and learning tools in order to progress their education.

Soccer Without Borders

Soccer Without Borders (SWB) is a not for profit organization dedicated to use the sport of soccer as a vehicle for positive change in the lives of marginalized youth around the world. SWB provide programs to youth in disadvantaged communities through sport-based and extracurricular activities. One of the countries that SWB has completed their work is Nicaragua. Upon learning that SWB staff and volunteers will be travelling to the city of Granada in May 2011, Isa Mundo contacted the organization to request their help to deliver our netbooks that will be used to create the first Isa Mundo Education Centre in Nicaragua.

Isa Mundo partnered with SWB and was able to deliver the netbooks successfully to our volunteer in Nicaragua to set up the IMEC at Empowerment International. We would like to thank SWB for their support and we hope to find a way to work together to complete a future project in Nicaragua.

To learn more about SWB, please visit their website at SoccerWithoutBorders.org.

A special thank you!

Since having launched Isa Mundo in 2007, we have been blessed with supportive colleagues and friends who have made significant impacts and contributions toward the success of the foundation. It is amazing how one person, one team, one group of people can make a difference in the lives of so many children and youth! Our colleagues and friends have also spent many hours listening to us talk about the foundation, our site visits, and our projects and have helped us grow the foundation.

This blog goes out to everyone who has listened, contributed, donated and gave us the opportunity to share our passion with you!

A great big thank you! merci! salamat! and gracias to you!

Introducing Café Roma's Kids Program

Isa Mundo Foundation has found new friends and partners in Mexico. We would like to introduce the Café Roma's Kids Program to our supporters and we happy to also announce that we will be partnering to complete our 3rd Isa Mundo Education Centre (IMEC) project in the Volcanes School outside of Puerto Vallarta. Isa Mundo recently completed a site visit at the school and decided that we have the capacity to contribute to improving the education facilities in this school.

Café Roma's Kids has been involved in supporting education and social programs in the Puerto Vallarta region by providing school supplies, funding teacher's wages, hosting fundraising efforts and even creating Pizza Party days to help feed less fortunate children in the area. The organization decided that they wanted to get involved with another school in the poor Colonia of Volcanes and immediately began supplying teacher assistants and school supplies to students. The organization also envisioned starting a computer centre as part of the students' curriculum and this idea fits well with Isa Mundo's IMEC concept.

We are looking forward to this partnership and we hope to finish our 3rd IMEC project (and the first) in Mexico with the help of the Café Roma's Kids Program. Stay tuned for updates!

To learn more about our new partner, visit their website at Café Roma's Kids Program.

Project Site Visit - Volcanes Primary School

Isa Mundo Foundation visited the new Volcanes Primary School located 5 kilometres inland in a Colonia called Volcanes just outside of Puerto Vallarta. Volcanes is also one of the barrios (neighborhoods) that Feed the Children organization targets with their feeding, education, day care and other programs. Isa Mundo has been working with Feed the Children since 2006.

The Volcanes School is a public funded school and has recently built a new addition to expand their existing rooms. The school focuses on math and English with hopes of starting a computer learning program in the near future. Mundoers visited the school to assess the location for a future Isa Mundo Education Centre (IMEC). Isa Mundo will focus its efforts in partnering with the school as part of the grant from MacEwen College's Global Education Fund. In addition, Mundoers also donated 4 boxes of books donated to help expand the limited supply of books at the school. We are grateful for the support and donation of books from the Vancouver Public Library.

We would also like to extend a big 'muchas gracias' to Art Fumerton for once again giving Isa Mundo a tour of the school and other projects in the area, his knowledge and experience in Mexico have been valuable to our work and project assessments both past and present

We hope to work in partnership with both the school and local organizations in the region to help build our first IMEC in Mexico. Stay tuned

What about teenage orphans?

Mundoers took the opportunity to visit the Refugio Infantil Santa Esperanza (RISE) during their trip to Puerto Vallarta. RISE is a non-profit shelter for babies and children under the age of 18 who have been turned over by the National Agency of Family Development (DIF), a Mexican government social services organization that protects the rights of children. Many of the children brought to RISE are not available for adoption; however, they spend their lifetime living at RISE. Numerous children come from unbearable situations having been abused, neglected, or simply abandoned by their families.

Currently, there are seven teenage girls living at RISE who feel a little out of place since they do not want to be grouped with the children, with the same rules, yet they are still young enough to live at RISE and not ready to live on their own. RISE is faced with the challenge of trying to keep the teenagers living at the Refugio, while supporting them through the crucial transition from childhood to adulthood.

The Refugio is striving to support and look after the teenagers, to surround them with love, while teaching them the necessary life skills to live independently as future adults. In order to do so, they have decided to build an onsite transition home for the teenagers. The outside of the building is built, they are now moving into the next phase of building the inside.

With this new transition home, they will instill values and skills to help them face life and make the right decisions while converting them into self-confident mature and responsible women.

Isa Mundo is looking into the possibility of working with RISE to help build a successful transition home.

The Hackery

Isa Mundo is proud to introduce The Hackery - a computer business that repairs and recycles laptops, computers and flat screen monitors. They have volunteered their time to do a diagnostic of our donated computers and laptops to ensure they are in optimal working condition. These computers and laptops will eventually be used to create future Isa Mundo Education Centres in Ghana and the Philippines.

To learn more about The Hackery, visit their website at www.thehackery.ca.

Businesses such as The Hackery play an integral role in ensuring that our Foundation has the technological expertise necessary to provide the highest quality technology based education tools for our education centre. In keeping with our misison to minimize impact on the environment, the Hackery is a great partner due their ethical recycling approach. They do not ship any laptops or computer systems and parts overseas and is a member of the Recycling Council of British Columbia.

We are grateful for the support of The Hackery - thank you guys!

If you need need computer/laptop: diagnostics; parts, repairs or recycle them, please visit them at 304 Victoria Drive in Vancouver, BC.

Isa Mundo and Staples Canada - THAT WAS EASY!

Isa Mundo has partnered with Staples Business Depot Store # 254 in Vancouver, BC. Staples provided discounts to purchase Acer Aspire 10' Netbooks to support our Isa Mundo Education Centre (IMEC) in Granada, Nicaragua. Staples provided additional sleeve protectors and help print our IMEC banners for the project.

n 1991, Staples founded its Canadian subsidiary, The Business Depot, and began opening stores under that name, though over a decade later, all stores were renamed as "Staples."

Staples has become the world’s largest office products company, is committed to making it easy for customers to buy a wide range of office products, including supplies, technology, furniture, and business services. The company’s goal: Give every customer a reason to believe…STAPLES Business Depot—That was easy!

Staples Store #254 is located on 200-1055 West Georgia St in Vancouver, BC.

We are grateful for the support of Staples and we hope to continue this partnership in the future.

Mexico Project Site Visits in April

Isa Mundo Foundation members (or Mundoers) will visit current and new potential projects in the Puerto Vallarta region in mid April 2011. Mundoers will return to Pasitos de Luz to visit the now completed solar panel project. We will also visit the new Volcanes Primary School which has been completed as part of the Feed the Children and School of Champions organization. We are committed to expand our first Isa Mundo Education Centre in Mexico and will discuss a potential partnership with the school in our next visit

We will provide an update on the ground in Mexico. Gracias.

Introducing .... Buena Vida Youth Foundation

Isa Mundo Foundation is proud to announce the launch of the Buena Vida Youth Foundation. Buena Vida (Good Life) is a non profit organization developed by Juan Valle and his group of passionate young individuals dedicated to improving the lives of at-risk youth in Latin America. Buena Vida will be focussing it's initial work in El Salvador by funding a soccer drop-in program to provide a safe environment away from gang activities and access to positive role models and mentors.

Isa Mundo was consulted by Buena Vida in early 2011 and we were honored to provide advice and guidance and share our own experience in developing our non profit organization. We will be supporting Buena Vida's program in the near future as we believe in their vision of improving the situations of children and youth in Latin American communities.

To learn more about Buena Vida Youth Foundation visit their website at www.buenavidayouthfoundation.com

Thank you MacEwan!

Back in October we applied for an education fund through the MacEwan Global Education Fund. We found out in late 2010 that our application had been accepted to receive a grant! We have now received a small amount from the GEF, which will go towards the funding of Isa Mundo Educational Centers.

The GEF’s mission statement is "believing in the value of education, the MacEwan Global Education Fund is designed to help less fortunate people world-wide access education through funds, training, and support." To find out more about the GEF visit their website at: http://www.macewan.ca/web/services/global_edfund/FAQ/Index.cfm?MenuOption=4&Line=14

Stay tuned for project details on our funding!

Mundopedia

We are in the process of creating a Wikipedia style link on our website, we are calling it, Mundopedia. Inspired by information and accessibility of Wikipedia, Isa Mundo is developing a similar approach by providing visual and basic statistics of various countries we have visited since 2005.

Mundopedia will highlight various indicators relevant to our projects, ie: population, educational attainment, literacy, poverty index, life expectancy, etc... We will also outline past, current and future projects in each countries to showcase contributions made by supporters and funders to the Isa Mundo Foundation.

We hope to launch Mundopedia by April 2011.

Happy New Year !

We would like to wish everyone a happy and peaceful 2011.

As we approach our 6th year as an organization, we would like to also take the opportunity to thank all those who continue to support our work and projects since our inception.

We are looking forward to an exciting and productive 2011 as we attempt to complete projects this year in Mexico, Philippines, Nicaragua, Peru and beyond, and in partnership with communties and other not-for- profit organizations.