EcuadorEcuador

Helping moms & babies in Ecuador

You are changing the lives of moms and babies. Here’s how.

Mom's & BabiesMom's & Babies
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The Need

Of the 5.2 million children who die around the world each year, 75 per cent die in the first year of life. Babies are at risk of death due to premature birth complications, complications during childbirth, infections, pneumonia and diarrhea. But this is preventable. With training and support, moms in poverty can be empowered to raise healthy and happy babies.

Our Response

Critical care
Your support helps secure access to pre- and postnatal care, skilled birth attendants and medical intervention when necessary.

Home-based care
Mothers are visited in their homes monthly by a Survival specialist, who offers education in prenatal care and early child-rearing as well as one-on-one biblical mentoring.

Group-based learning
At these church-based activities, moms learn skills to earn an income and gain vital knowledge including basic literacy, the importance of breastfeeding and how to prevent malnutrition and disease. These groups combat isolation through a supportive community of mothers who, together, learn about the God who loves them.

Ecuador Stats

Average number of children in household 2
Births attended by skilled health personnel 94
Stunted growth from malnutrition 25

Activities

Family events: Couples were invited to a special marriage night at the church to connect, share and enjoy a delicious meal together. The evening included praise and worship, testimonies and songs. In addition, twelve families were strengthened during a family retreat. They enjoyed workshops about raising their children responsibly according to biblical principles, as well as tasty meals and snacks and activities like hiking to a waterfall, fishing and swimming. We also gave moms gifts at Mother’s Day.

Group meetings: Monthly group meetings are a wonderful time of fellowship and learning. One workshop focused on building a healthy family by making wise decisions. Moms learn about different topics in the Survival curriculum, interact with other mothers, pray together and study the Bible.

Spiritual nurture: Local pastors and Survival staff taught Bible classes to small groups of mothers. During one session, the pastor reflected on Matthew and how God wants His disciples to follow the narrow path to eternal life, rather than the wide road that leads to destruction. The mothers were encouraged spiritually.

Skills training: Some moms completed a knitting course to make baby clothes and others have learned how to embroider pillows, make jewelry and handicrafts. Moms were excited to learn these skills as they can sell the completed items to generate income.

Early stimulation: Through home visits, moms learned various activities to help stimulate their babies’ communication skills. Moms learned to bond with their babies and establish trust through infant massage, softly caressing babies’ feet, naming body parts and saying loving words to them. These dynamic interactions between mother and child will help babies develop social, communication and motor skills. Moms also learned how to make sensory toys for their babies.

Health and nutrition: Survival moms and babies receive regular medical checkups, which is critical during a child’s first months of life to monitor their overall health and development and receive timely diagnosis of illness. The mothers are deeply grateful for the attention they receive. Survival families were overjoyed to receive monthly food kits containing nutrient-dense items like beans, chicken and rice they couldn’t otherwise afford. Survival implementers taught moms how to prepare nourishing meals for their families. Moms were also given hygiene kits and mosquito nets to help prevent mosquito-borne illnesses.

Project Stats

This intervention addressed:

Full-term births 13
Pregnancies 11
Breastfeeding Moms 12
Malnourished Babies - Severely Underweight 25
Attended births 13
Malnourished Babies - Moderately Underweight 34
Normal birth weights 12
Low birth weights 1
Pastor Alfredo

ReportA message from a pastor

Dear supporters,

I greet you from the World Missionary Movement Church in Pampanal de Bolivar (Compassion centre EC0625). I am very grateful for all the help you have given us through the Survival program. God has touched your hearts to give; I am grateful for the help of each child.

The mommies thank God for having supporters like you; they give thanks for each of the blessings that you have sent them. Thanks to your support, the babies and their mothers are receiving biweekly visits in their homes and learning from the Word of God, and above all, learning to love God and their neighbour.

We meet with the Survival moms every two weeks where we have the opportunity to read and share the Word of God. The mommies and children attend the worship service on Sundays. During the service the children are given a snack and receive the Word of God.

As a church we are committed to rescuing children and their mothers in the name of Jesus and to serving them in love. We want them to have a true encounter with Jesus in their lives more than ever. We also hope they can learn entrepreneurial skills they can do from their homes to support their households in the difficult situations in which they live.

We trust in the Lord, and our faith is always that you can continue to help this ministry so that every mother can continue to move forward with her children and that the Lord will continue to change their lives so they can have healthy families and raise a generation that praises the Lord.

I bid you farewell.

Your servant,

Pastor Alfredo
Erika

ReportA message from those your gift helped

Greetings, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ. May you be filled with blessings.

My name is Erika and I am 24 years old. I gave birth to my third child, named Fabricio. During my pregnancy, life was very complicated because I did not have any family support. During my labour at the hospital, I was attended by health specialists. Thanks to God’s blessing, my delivery was successful. My biggest hope was that my baby would be born healthy, and he was.

I am grateful first to God and then to the Survival program, which impacted my life greatly since I was lost spiritually. I was lost without any direction, but God came into my life to help me. He is in control and has the power to change the lives of people who need Him and know Him.

I am grateful to the church, who have shown me support and welcomed me to the congregation. The Survival program workshops and activities have been a great blessing to me because I have learned how to take care of my baby, both physically and spiritually. I have learned how to maintain the well-being of my family and teach my children according to the Word of God. My baby has learned to move his body and strengthen his muscles. I love to do exercises with him to encourage his development.

My baby is a blessing because through him the light has come into our home. My husband returned home and is changing. All of this has been achieved through prayer. I am thankful for the early stimulation classes, feeding advice, delivery of food kits and baskets of love (which are special items for the baby). My favourite Survival activity is the workshops because I learn new things. I love to praise God and attend Sunday services. The curriculum is of great help to me and other mothers.

I hope Fabricio always stays in the ways of the Lord and never strays from Him. I pray he will always be under the covering of God’s love. My favourite verse is John 3:16 because of God’s great love for us all—and even more, that He gave his only Son to forgive us for all the bad things we have done.

May God continue to bless you in all the activities and plans you have for the benefit of the children. I say goodbye with a big hug in the love of our Lord and Saviour Jesus.

Erika
Emerita, Survival implementer

ReportA message from a partnership facilitator

Greetings from Ecuador!

First of all, thank you for your generosity. Thanks to your support, we are reaching the lives of 15 mothers and their families with the message of salvation to redeem their lives. It is a challenging time for us since we are new, but we have a heart of service and passion to reach those most in need.

Our achievements for the benefit of the Survival children have had a great reach through the delivery of food and hygiene kits each month, since many moms do not have a job to support their children.

We have been able to reach homes with the Word of God, teaching the Word, encouraging them to follow in the footsteps of our Lord Jesus Christ and evangelizing not only the beneficiaries but also their families, neighbours and friends. We are seeing positive results since the mothers and their children are attending church and Sunday school.

In this short time, we have been able to make visits to each of the homes, teaching Christian values ​​as well as educating parents in the care of their children and healthy eating for both children and families. In addition, the moms are learning new things through the handicraft and entrepreneurship workshops, like making cards and foam flowers. Some mothers have learned a new trade that has generated economic resources for them.

A challenge for us is the insecurity of the area—the crime that affects the sector; however, God has kept us, our moms and our children safe.

Our thanks once again for the opportunity to serve through this ministry to reach more lives for Christ. Please pray for us in this endeavour, and for each of the Survival moms. Likewise, you are always in our prayers. Thank you for your big heart. We bless your lives, and may the Lord multiply everything you undertake.

Thank you very much with love,

Emerita, Survival implementer