NOTE: You are not required to tip GoFundMe. GoFundMe defaults to adding a 15% tip during donation payment. This is optional, and on top of the 2.9%+$0.30 of your donation that they already charge. You don’t have to tip anything, and you can change this tip to $0 by dragging the slider on the page all the way to the left.
NOTE: Using GoFundMe saves me time and energy that I can then give to principle activities. GoFundMe provides behind the scenes organization that I would have to do myself if everyone donated individually, taking my time and effort away from my principle activities. Please consider the GoFundMe fee a replacement for paying someone to manage the fundraiser.
NOTE: You can make a free transfer outside of GoFundMe. If you have PayPal (jeromeekiley@gmail.com) or Venmo (@Jerome-Kiley-1) in the US, these methods are free transfers. You can send me a personal gift, and I will add your anonymous gift to the GoFundMe’s fundraiser list of donations. However, you won’t receive the updates I post on GoFundMe.
Update 6/25
Hello, and greetings again from Boston!
I first want to thank those who have already donated to bring us already to $970 in the fundraiser to make something special happen in Ecuador. I always write that I'm humbled and amazed by people's generosity, and it's always true. We're on our way to reach the $3,000 goal - thank you so much, it makes a huge difference! Everyone can still give through the GoFundMe platform here, or by PayPal or Venmo. Please come and and check it out - everything helps, including your prayers and sharing the GoFundMe site with others.
I’m heading to Ecuador in these days, so I’ll have more updates as things develop. I’ll continue to share on the fundraiser page - click on the “See all the details” button below.
This year is a larger fundraiser than usual, so I’m hoping to invite more people to participate. Please consider sharing the news with others who you think might be interested!
Thank you all again very much, and I hope you feel like you are a part of the communal experience of giving and receiving.
Make Something Special Happen
Can something special happen when life looks dark?
My friend recently lost his sister who had Down's Syndrome, and after the funeral, he told me a story about her. One day when they were all kids, the power in the house went out from a big storm, and all the kids were scared. But in that short moment of panic before the fear could set in from the total darkness, they heard the sound of their sister's voice: Happy Birthday to you … That's what she knew: when the lights went out, it was time to sing Happy Birthday! The darkness meant that something special was happening.
It's completely counter-intuitive for us. But it's true. Whenever there is darkness in life, something special is happening. And you can help to make that a reality for others.
I'm Jerome, a lay missionary who's carried out over 25 fundraisers in over eleven years in Ecuador, in collaboration with local communities and institutions. I’m in the States these days, and yet you can join me to bring about something special by collaborating with a local community, Chontal, in Ecuador, where I have a 15-year-long personal relationship:
• A family needs financial hope to continue looking for serious medical treatment for their daughter, Rafaela.
• The elementary school patio, which is the only public gathering space in the school, needs a roof to protect it from the hot sun and the rains and puddles that leave children and staff no place for activities.
So, I’m looking to raise $500 more for Rafaela's family for now, to add to the $400 we already joined to the community's fundraiser for her in March. I'm also looking to raise $2500 for the labor cost of constructing the village's school patio. About $1500 of materials are provided, and the community itself will work with local professionals in what is called a "minga" - a community work day - to build the roof. This has been a need I've dreamed of helping with for the last 15 years, if ever the opportunity came up, and now the community is acting. So, I’m looking to see if we can gather a total of $3000.
I collaborate with the local community, meaning I join with and add to what they do. We don't replace their efforts, or save people - we make a bigger community. Would you like to join with me and the local community of Chontal in Ecuador, and be a part of bringing about something special in dark and difficult times?
Please consider a gift at GoFundMe, and come check out all the details below:
1. Financial support for Rafaela’s medical treatment ($500)
We gave $400 from the last fundraiser to the family of 7-year-old Rafaela, and that was a big help for them. But the Rafaela's story and the family's needs are something much bigger. (For more detail on her story, come and see the updates from the last fundraiser here.
Arsenio and Janeth have 4 daughters, and the first two have graduated high school, and the third is a senior this upcoming school year. Those around here for a while may remember them benefitting from the fundraiser we did back in 2014, when the Mother's Day landslides destroyed about 7 homes in Chontal. Arsenio and Janeth and the 3 girls at the time had just left their home to flee to safety, when a large landslide poured down and buried their small house on the low side of the mountain. In part from our fundraiser, they were able to rebuild a small home away from the foot of the mountain.
Arsenio is a basic day laborer, working in the local naranjilla fruit industry. Seven years ago they had a fourth daughter, Rafaela, who has some genetic birth defects.
These have produced problems with her eyes, ears, throat, teeth, pallet, among other things. Vision, hearing, tooth stability, and language production have all suffered and needed medical attention over the years. But most importantly, she has a growing hole in her heart that requires open heart surgery. It has been urgent since she was a little child, before the pandemic. And now it's more urgent.
There are a lot of obstacles - Janeth has visited doctors in Quito and Guayaquil, and it's been difficult to find the attention Rafaela needs. I am in periodic contact with Janeth, and for now, I am looking for $500 for some short-term support to help keep the family going in their search to resolve finding treatment. Obviously, financial resources can open more options. So as the conversation continues and options become clearer, I hope to look for more support in a later effort.
2. Labor costs for building a patio roof at the local school in Chontal ($2500)
The local school in Chontal has a large patio for all children's activities. It lacks a roof to protect it from the rains and sun, two things that work throughout the school year to make the patio a challenge for children's activities and health.
Since my first days in Chontal, I've dreamed of finding a way to support the community if they ever move to build a roof for the school. And recently, the community decided to make it a priority.
A roof for a school yard that size typically costs about $4000, with about $1500 in materials and $2500 in labor. The community is getting the material, and is looking for help with the labor costs. So, I’m looking to see if we can gather $2500 for the labor cost.
Here are a few pictures and a video taken recently at the school. At times, a large portion of the patio can be covered with puddles:
Not much has changed on the patio since I arrived in Chontal back in 2010.
Here is a view from 2017:
And these two are from Christmas program in 2014, at the beginning of the day and then later when I came out as Santa:
As I mentioned, finding a way to have a roof was an idea I started exploring back in 2019. Ecuador has two principal seasons, a dry season and a wet season. Having a roof over the patio will protect from the hot sun in the dry season and from the rains in the rain season. I have been there for both, and it’s a tough experience for the kids. The hot sun is especially intense as Chontal is only 2 tenths of a degree north of the equator. The rain isn’t typically around during class times, but large puddles throughout the patio can sit for days or weeks during rain season, making it largely unusable for the kids except messy soccer.
Just before the pandemic, a small roof was place over the stairway next to the patio. So a roof over the whole patio is the one, glaring missing piece.
Thank you for considering making something special happen in Ecuador!
I’m always glad to hear from you. Feel free to leave a comment below.
NOTE: You are not required to tip GoFundMe. GoFundMe defaults to adding a 15% tip during donation payment. This is optional, and on top of the 2.9%+$0.30 of your donation that they already charge. You don’t have to tip anything, and you can change this tip to $0 by dragging the slider on the page all the way to the left.
NOTE: Using GoFundMe saves me time and energy that I can then give to principle activities. GoFundMe provides behind the scenes organization that I would have to do myself if everyone donated individually, taking my time and effort away from my principle activities. Please consider the GoFundMe fee a replacement for paying someone to manage the fundraiser.
NOTE: You can make a free transfer outside of GoFundMe. If you have PayPal (jeromeekiley@gmail.com) or Venmo (@Jerome-Kiley-1) in the US, these methods are free transfers. You can send me a personal gift, and I will add your anonymous gift to the GoFundMe’s fundraiser list of donations. However, you won’t receive the updates I post on GoFundMe.