Children's Day in Goa

On November 20th we sponsored our first children’s day event in India in partnership with Grace Educational Foundation, an organization that provides learning opportunities to children in need. The children’s day celebration was organized in the small village of Betim Ramnagar, and was attended by almost sixty children between the ages of 2 and 12. The children, parents, educators and community members enjoyed many activities around the theme "what would your like to be when you grow up?"...imagination was running wild...children dressed up, performed and enjoyed eating lots of food and treats. Each child received a storybook and a set of crayons to take home with them to continue the fun...this is the first of many celebrations to come!

Monako Graphics Printing

We would like to introduce Monako Graphics Printing as the newest sponsor of the Isa Mundo Foundation. Monako contributed to printing Isa Mundo's business cards, brochures and postcards as a way to donate to our projects in 2010. We appreciate their committment to Isa Mundo and their belief that our work is making a difference in the lives of those less fortunate.

Thank for your support !!

Monako Graphics Printing is located at 102-300 West Georgia Street in Vancouver, BC. Click on this link to find their location.

Monako Location

The New Look Website !!

The Isa Mundo Foundation website has been re-launched with a new look and design. The new site is more interactive and we hope to keep adding and improving the website with new information, pictures and updates. We would like to thank GeeGen for all her hard work in improving and maintaining the website.

In addition, GeeGen has officially joined Isa Mundo as a member due to her dedication in promoting the foundation in her work and design.

Welcome GeeGen !!

First Isa Mundo Auction

Dear blog readers,

We decided that it would be a good idea to have an online auction to raise funds for our projects. We are in the process of gathering a bunch of goods for the auction. If you have any new items you would like to donate for this auction, please feel free to send us an email and tell us all about it. The more amazing things we have, the better the auction will be. And the more money we raise, the more we will be able to help those who need it the most! ; )

Trip to Nica

It’s about that time of year again…time to travel! This time, the foundation brought us to beautiful Nicaragua. Not many people know that Nicaragua is the second most impoverished nation in the Western Hemisphere. Once in Nicaragua it was hard to imagine that in such a beautiful country, 27% of its population is suffering from undernourishment. Despite seeing all the hardship, we had a very worthwhile trip. During our short week, we managed to meet with three organizations: Bridges to Community, Empowerment International and Caritas Feliz (featured on October 13).

Bridges to Community is a non-profit striving to create a world where basic needs are treated as human rights: shelter, nutrition, education, healthcare, and employment. Thanks to Miranda and Kevin who graciously toured us around amazing projects including community education, sustainable housing, small loan projects and leadership programs. Thank you to Miranda, Kevin, Jarred, Bonnie and many other community members for sharing your wonderful stories and for welcoming us into your homes and communities. Please check out the Bridges website to found out more about their amazing work in Nica http://bridgestocommunity.org

Empowerment International’s mission is to break the cycle of poverty before it is transferred to yet another generation, by building more educated and productive communities. Their vision is to enable every child to go to school and achieve the level of education they desire. One of the great things about EI is that they encourage the communities to make EI program their own and then empower them to raise their voices and tell their own stories. This is a great approach with working with communities – empower them to make the change! Thank you Deepa for meeting with us (twice!). Check out EI online at http://empowermentinternational.org/

We are now working with these great organizations on the possibility of future projects and we hope that through these projects, we will help empower the future of Nicaragua.

Carita en NIca

A few days ago, as we (or Isa Mundoers) were walking around Granada trying to orient ourselves and plan our next few days of foundation work, we walked through a poorer neighborhood of town and discovered Carita Feliz. It's difficult not to fall in love with these children (check out the pictures). The next day, we decided to walk back to Carita to learn more about this organization.

Carita was founded in March 2001 by Peder Kolind, a Dutch native. Having recently moved to Granada, he found many children hungry and begging for food. His first day here, he bought food from a street vendor to 70 children. The next day he found 130 children waiting expectantly for him. He soon realized that the community needs were so immense, so he decided to launch Carita Feliz.

Their mission is to work with children and youth, through education, to promote the development of attitudes, knowledge, abilities, and skills to encourage their full educational development. They are currently helping over 1,500 children and youth and their families, through meal and nutrition programs, after school programs, scholarships, medical and dental programs and many others. All services offered by Caritas are completely free for all.

They are doing fantastic work with the communities…and, one of the great things about Caritas is that it is completely ran by local community members and leaders. To learn more about Carita visit:http://www.caritafeliz.org/

Isa Mundo Article on Volunteering

Isa Mundo Foundation's Director, Paul Lorilla, was interviewed by Latincouver regarding the importance of volunteering and giving back to your community. Read the short article by clicking on this link:

http://www.latincouver.ca/home_page_articles/en/volunteerism_giving_back_community