By Maria Jose Orellana | Executive Director
Dear friends,
Something beautiful is unfolding here in Ecuador — and you are a part of it.
Because of your generous support, over 500 children across Cuenca and beyond are growing up with more than just basic needs met. They’re growing up with hope. With opportunity. With dreams.
You’ve helped provide daily meals for kids who used to go hungry. School supplies for children who studied by candlelight. Medicine and care for those facing life with chronic illness or disability.
And the story doesn’t stop there.
In a cozy kitchen just down the road, six grandmothers — many of them raising the very same children your gift has reached — are rediscovering joy through the D’ellas CREADORAS program.
Every week, these women gather to bake bread with steady hands and proud hearts. Some never had formal schooling. Many have lived through loss and hardship. All have given everything they have to raise children — often on less than 30 cents a day.
Now, for the first time, they are earning an income doing something they love.
“I never imagined I would have this chance at my age,” says Cecilia, 68. “Now I earn my own money — and my grandchildren call me la panadera.”
This is more than bread. It’s dignity. It’s healing. It’s the kind of transformation that ripples outward — from children, to grandmothers, to entire communities.
And it’s only possible because of you.
You’ve given children the chance to dream. Now, together, we’re showing them those dreams can come true — with love, support, and a whole lot of heart.
To our donors: thank you. Your belief in a brighter future is creating one.
We can’t wait to share more of these stories with you — the ones that begin with a simple act of kindness and grow into generational change.
If this story touches your heart, leave a note of encouragement — something like “Keep rising!” or “What a beautiful story.”
Want to follow the journey?
-- Follow us on Facebook to meet the grandmothers and stay close to their journey: https://www.facebook.com/heartsofgoldec/
-- Or join our newsletter to stay in the loop (sign up at bottom of the page): https://www.heartsofgoldfoundation.org/contact.
Together, let’s keep turning hope into action — and dreams into something real.
With love and gratitude,
Maria Jose Orellana
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