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Misión Alianza: From Norway to Guayaquil
Posted On 04 Sep 2011
La isla trinitaria, Bastión popular Voluntad de Dios y Unión y Progreso are some of the poorest areas of Guayaquil that receive help from Misión Alianza, a nonprofit organization from Norway that aims to improve the lives of the people who need it the most.Misión Alianza was established in Ecuador in 1994 and decided to focus on Guayaquil because it is the largest city that despite being an economic capital has high poverty rates.
The Norwegian organization believes that Ecuador, located in the center of the planet, will be a model for this project to reach more countries, Brazil and Bolivia are already being benefited by Misión Alianza.There are 50 people that work for Misión Alianza in Guayaquil, they have a budget of two million dollars (10% of it comes from donors from the Kingdom of Norway) to carry out its mission of helping the community.
Tomas Rodriguez, who is in charge of the communication area in Misión Alianza, said that providing better education is one of the major goals of this organization. “Before this government, public schools were built, now that several public schools have been built by the government, Misión Alianza improves their infrastructure and strengthen the pedagogical area,” Rodriguez says.
This organization buys the more expensive teaching methods, which are often used by private schools in Guayaquil, to apply them with children who attend public schools located in marginal areas. It also establishes soccer schools, which are later given to the state and the community to promote sports among children and teenagers who live in those areas, they form teams to play friendly games or competitions. Some football teams have traveled to Norway to compete in tournaments where they have been champions.
It happens in any social context, children are born with mental disabilities such as Down syndrome, or levels of delay, conditions that require attention and pricey therapies, which is why Misión Aliana is the only NGO working with special education schools in the area, using an expensive methodology called Curriculum natural functional.
A total of 10,000 children benefit from the work of Misión Alianza and at least 30,000 adults are taking advantage of the support of this organization, which offers monthly trainings, workshops (jewelry, bakery, hairdressing, etc.) and talks. Misisón Alianza is currently addressing the issue of HIV and members of evangelical churches have participated in discussions of gender in the community.
But it’s not just about education, the foundation has provided and continues to provide medical support by establishing health centers. As its name implies, this organization has compromised to make alliances to benefit those in most need for 15 years now and will continue to do so with the help of the community.
