World Health Day

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced April 7, 2014 as World Health Day.  This year's theme is Small Bite: Big Threat and focuses on mosquitoes, flies, ticks and bugs as threats to our health at home, in communities and when travelling.

WHO states that 40% of the world's population remains at risk from dengue. In addition, WHO website outlines that: "more than half the world’s population is at risk from diseases such as malaria, dengue, leishmaniasis, Lyme disease, schistosomiasis, and yellow fever, carried by mosquitoes, flies, ticks, water snails and other vectors"

To learn more about WHO's World Health Day initiatives and how to protect yourself and the environment, visit the website at www.who.int

Red Cross Letter

As an update, we successfully completed the Typhoon Haiyan fundraising and will now be returning to our on-going Support a Teacher Campaign. 

We would like to thank everyone who donated to this worthwhile cause, your support made a difference in the lives of those most affected by this natural disaster. Red Cross sent us a thank you letter and we hope to continue our partnership with them in the future.

Salamat po to everyone!

Project Site Visit - Mexico 2014

We completed our first project site visits of 2014 by visiting 3 projects in the Puerto Vallarta area.

The first visit was a trip to see the new Casa Connor project being constructed. The facility will be providing services to children with disabilities and in partnership with Pasitos de Luz.  We were very impressed with the construction and the positive impact it will have for many children and their families.

We were also able to visit the new site being constructed by the Families of the Dump organization. This facility will be a 70-unit housing and community learning center on a street called Hope Road. It will house 500 men, woman and children, giving many, for the first time, true sheltered homes with with many services and amenities.

Lastly, we visited the Volcanes Primary School and donated laptops that we hope will provide additional support to their education projects.  The visit also allowed us to assess potential projects that could be completed by the180th Pacific Coast Scout Group (Rovers) during their visit to Puerto Vallarta in May 2014. In addition, we were able to discuss how to implement our Life Skills Program in partnership with local teachers at the Volcanes Primary School.

We will keep you all updated as these projects progress.

The Liberty Foundation

The Isa Mundo Foundation made its first trip to the country of Belize in December 2013.  We decided to do a trip based on a recommendation by one of our funders who requested Isa Mundo to visit two organizations in the country.  We have not visited Belize in the past because our research showed that the country has the second highest per capita income in Central America and with a robust tourism industry.  But we were informed by our funder that there is large disparity between rich and poor with 4 out of 10 people living in poverty, making it difficult for some children to have access to education.

One of the organizations we visited is the Liberty Foundation which is located in the town of Ladyville on the outskirts of Belize City.  Liberty was established to provide care and support education of abandoned and abused children in Belize.  We learned that Liberty also assists children with disabilities and special needs, including children with HIV/AIDS.

We were able to visit their school facility which provides education to pre-school children in the local community.  The Liberty Foundation's Director, Agatha Valentine, informed us that the school uses the Montessori educational approach which was originally developed for underprivileged children. There is an opportunity for Isa Mundo to provide additional supplies and technology to this school and we will be assessing how to best support the Liberty Foundation in the coming year.

To learn more about the Liberty Foundation, click on www.libertyfoundation.org.uk

Dr. Jim (Jaime) Boland

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Dr. Jim (Jaime) Boland.  Jaime had been one of the biggest fans, strongest supporters and loudest advocates of the Isa Mundo Foundation.

We first met Jaime in Mexico in 2007 and showed us some of the not for profit organizations, charities and communities he was supporting in the Puerto Vallarta area.  He introduced us to the R.I.S.E. organization, the first orphanage we have ever visited for the foundation.  He also opened our eyes to Pasitos de Luz, the day care centre for children with disabilities.  To this day, we continue to work with Pasitos and follow the vision of Jaime on how to best support the organization based on our capacity.

Jaime was a great mentor to Isa Mundo, constantly exposing us to new ideas along with teaching our team how to work with individuals, organizations and communities in Mexico. Most importantly, he preached cultural sensitivity and to be adaptable to different values and ideals.

We will be doing the first project site visit of the year in Mexico on February 2014 and will honour Jaime by visiting the new Pasitos de Luz facility being constructed (also known as Casa Connor). We hope to find a way to partner with the organization and support the work Jaime was doing in improving the lives of less fortunate children in the Puerto Vallarta area.

We will miss our friend and colleague but our time with Jaime was a blessing and he would want us to celebrate and continue the good work he started.

Happy New Year

It has been a great year for the Isa Mundo Foundation.  We forged new partnerships this year both with businesses and other not for profit organizations.  Most notably, we collaborated with Big Mountain Youth Society to bring school supplies to Indonesia and partnered with St. George's Academy to bring laptops and educational tools to Peru to establish our first Isa Mundo Education Centre in the country. 

We are looking forward to 2014 and potential projects that we will be developing. We will return to Mexico in February to visit the Volcanes Primary School and see the new Pasitos de Luz facility being constructed in Puerto Vallarta.  We also have a potential site visit in Guatemala to see first hand the Project Somos Children's Village.  We hope to complete this trip by summer 2014.

We all need to take time to reflect on a successful 2013. All the hard work resulted in projects that continue to improve the lives of children, students, families and communities we work with.  We could not have completed all our projects this year without the continued support of our funders and volunteers. Our work will only progress when we all work together. 

We are wishing everyone a peaceful, healthy and prosperous New Year and we look forward to a successful 2014!

The Generosity of Canadians

I would like to thank everyone who contributed to our Typhoon Haiyan Relief Campaign. Our fundraising ended on December 8, 2013 and we raised over $1500 between November 18 to December 7.  We have chosen to give our funds to the Red Cross and continue the solid partnership we have established. This amount will be matched by the Government of Canada dollar for dollar as part of Canada's commitment to the relief efforts in the Philippines.

In addition, Isa Mundo provided another option other than a monetary donation.  We collected boxes of non-perishable food items, blankets and medicine to be sent to the Philippines in partnership with a local shipping company.  We also suggested for other supporters to donate directly to the Red Cross  under the Typhoon Haiyan Fund, if this is their preferred approach.

Given the Foundation's on-going focus on education, children and youth and environmental health projects, it is not typical for our organization to fund raise for disaster relief efforts.  But we do respond when our supporters, funders and friends choose to donate only through the Isa Mundo Foundation and request that we start a campaign. It really shows the trust that people has bestowed on our organization and the immense generosity and care displayed by Canadians.

As someone who was born and raised in the Philippines, I followed this event very closely as I have family and friends affected directly or indirectly by this disaster.  I have to say, that the outpouring of sympathy and support globally reminded me of what we can accomplish together. From governments, not for profits, businesses, communities, families and individuals -it shows we can put our differences aside and work for the common good. I will never forget the horrifying images of the disaster but I will also remember the remarkable story of the spirit of humanity.

I recently read an article published in the Philippines that summarized it best:

".... there are few events in the world that make humanity come together so selflessly. Typhoon Haiyan was one of them. We, Filipinos, will never forget this"

Salamat po