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.