This all started with my Eagle Scout project. I wanted to get my Eagle, yes… but I wanted to do something special, something that would mean a lot to me and the people I was serving. The opportunity presented itself when I saw all of the pictures of Dando Amor helping in the orphanages in Ecuador. I called Travis Gugelman to see what was needed, and if there was any possible way I could help the orphaned children. I found out that one of the BIG needs was shoes. Many of the orphans have a pair, but they are worn and literally falling off of their feet. So, for my project I decided to use my talents, and I ran a soccer camp organized to get many donations of shoes and also money to buy more shoes and other things needed in Ecuador!
Little did I know, I would have a life changing experience by getting to go deliver the donated shoes I had gathered to the children themselves! I started off thinking that I was just going to send the shoes with Dando Amor, and that they would deliver them for me and take some pictures. However, I was told that I really needed to come and deliver them myself. Well, I had no objections, and I am lucky enough to have an amazing father who brought me down to Ecuador to deliver the shoes!
Well, the soccer camps were a success. I ran two different camps called Kicks For Ecuador Soccer Camps, and the entrance fee was a pair of shoes or 10 dollars. We worked with a total of around 75 kids, and through this and other donations we raised 250 plus pairs of shoes and over 500 dollars for further help! It was a great feeling to have collected all of them! Well, the day came near to leaving… and finally… we were off!
We landed in Ecuador tired from the flights, but we were all ready to go the next morning! We went to three different orphanages that day, all of them were life changing and some were shocking! It was a real eye-opener for me to see their living conditions and their life style in general. Some of these children have gone through abuse and were abandoned by their parents. Before I came, I had no idea that even something as small as bringing shoes could make a difference. We can’t change their past and we can’t make their future perfect, but we can always make it better!
A few days went by with many unforgettable experiences, but I was greatly anticipating the day where I would get to drop off some shoes. And that day finally came! We drove up to one of the orphanages, and we decided that we would give shoes to this one. We also bought some soccer balls for them to play with. While we were playing soccer one of the boys shoes were falling off, the sole was falling off the bottom and it was in terrible condition. My dad pulled him aside and gave him the first pair of shoes. When he came back on to the soccer field he had the biggest smile on his face and a skip in his step! We lined all of the children up and set out the shoes. We sized them and gave them all a new pair of shoes. After they all had a pair, the translator in our group gathered them together and told them about the project I did to get the shoes. After she was done, I had the most life changing moment of my life. Thirty kids were hugging me, and thanking me for bringing them shoes! What made it worth it to me was to see the joy expressed in all of their bright faces! A group of three girls hugged me tighter than I thought possible–for a minute straight! I can’t express in words how amazing this experience was for me, and hopefully it was a good ones for the orphans as well! The trip was an amazing opportunity to serve and to donate, but what these kids needed most was love. Simple, understanding love. These kids have been abandoned and abused, and you could see how happy they were to have someone sit down and put an arm around them or give them a piggy back ride. All of the simple things helped.
This is how a simple idea of helping out orphanages can turn into an experience that would change my life and help theirs, even if it was just for a bit!