May 2018 Update
May and the first week of June were quite busy. Our Second Annual Pancake Breakfast was held on June 2nd. We served 125 people and had some nice raffle prizes. El Banda TIME donated a few hours of music and included a singer. The delicious menu included pancakes, sausage, bacon, fruit cup, juice and coffee, and was enjoyed by our guests.
It was a busy morning, and our two chefs making pancakes were caught on video, doing a dance with spatula in hand. It was a fun morning.
JetBlue Comes Through Again
JetBlue Airline employees from Quito arrived with bags of clothing, bedding, blankets and much more. JetBlue has been great in supporting our needs. They also brought milk for our kitchen to make collada, which is a hot traditional drink enjoyed by our elderly.
JetBlue team and our wonderful volunteers
JetBlue Donations
David Sasaki keeps everyone posted with his beautiful photos. He donated his time and took many of the attached photos.
Paso del Chagra
A beautiful horse show called Paso del Chagra took place on June 3rd. The main street of Cotacachi is closed for this special parade. The horses start at our soccer field, travel down our Main Street, and then head for another village called Quiroga. There is an open stadium and the horses continue to perform. Many people travel here by van for this exciting performance. Photos by David Sasaki.
More Updates
During May, our Dr. Patricio checked twenty of our elderly people, and saw that they were cared for with whatever was needed. We have two nurses that assist him by taking blood pressures and filling out medical forms.
June 21st begins a very large celebration called Inti Rami. It is an Inca festival of the sun and starts on the day of the summer solstice. Parades, dancing, music and much more are part of this week-long festival. You will have an update in June.
Our rainy season appears to be over, and the weather is great – cool mornings and evenings with beautiful sunshine during the day. It’s a good time to plan a vacation!
Place of Hope in Cotacachi serves breakfast to our Indigenous and Ecuadorian elderly who are in need of a nutritious meal. Thank you for your support over the years, and we appreciate your continued donations so that we can cover our monthly expenses. Food costs a minimum of $1,000 per month. Our average attendance for breakfast is from 45 to 65 seniors. We serve 5 mornings a week. If you are in Cotacachi, we invite you to visit our facility. The volunteer staff and our two cooks continue to do a great job serving.
Time sure does go by – already we are in the 6th month of 2018. Wishing you a wonderful year and health.
Hope to see you in Cotacachi.
Thank you for your continued support. This is much appreciated. If you care to make a visit, just send me an email or contact one of our volunteers.
Micky Enright
Founder of Ecuador Project Hope