Cotacachi Place of Hope - Lugar de Esperanza

12/11/2025

Thank you Wichana for your continued support to all of the wonderful programs here in Cotacachi ❤️

07/11/2025

Place of Hope/Lugar de Esperanza received an incredible donation from JetBlue Airlines✈️, 3 boxes full of food for our program: Barley, salt, sugar, 17 bags of dried beans, Colada flavor mix, 24 cans of tuna, 6 bags of oatmeal, 8 bags of machica, 100 bouillon flavor packets, 4 large bags of rice, 17 packages of pasta, 6 blankets, and 1 sweater.

JetBlue’s dedication to our program has been so wonderful over the years and we can’t thank them enough for the continued thoughtfulness. Sending Andres Granja & Paulina Andrade, a big virtual hug and our most sincere thanks for spear heading this donation drive.

Today we served 64 meals under bright blue skies with a hint on snow on top of Mama Cotacachi.

Please consider helping us to continue the much needed benefit to our elders here in Cotacachi, Ecuador. You can use the link below for safe and direct donations through PayPal.

Donations can be directly made with this link: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?business=donations%40ecuadorprojecthope.org&item_name=Ecuador+Project+Hope¤cy_code=USD

10/10/2025

Place of Hope/Lugar de Esperanza has been business as usual. Some may know that we are currently experiencing a Paro/Strike that has affected mostly our little town here in Cotacachi and Otavalo. Even though food is getting a bit more scarce to find, especially fresh fruit and vegetables, we are well stocked and have been able to keep our doors open, providing a warm and nutritional meal for our elders.

There are so many people to thank for helping our program continue to be the success that it is. We have the best volunteers and most generous donors. Our deepest grattitude and love go to all of you.

In the past couple of months, we have received many food donations: Bill & Ann Henry, Louise Keim-Klemp, Dayita, Yanneck Pack/Pandala, Ken Fordam & his wife Paula. A very big hug to all of you.

In a world that seems very harsh at times, it’s truly wonderful and heart warming to know that there is so much goodness and love surrounding our program.

Please consider helping us to continue the much needed benefit to our elders here in Cotacachi, Ecuador. You can use the link below for safe and direct donations through PayPal.

Donations can be directly made with this link: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?business=donations%40ecuadorprojecthope.org&item_name=Ecuador+Project+Hope¤cy_code=USD

10/10/2025

Place of Hope/ Lugar de Esperanza would like to thank Ken Fordham and his wife Paula for their very generous donations of food items to our kitchen this week. It is very much appreciated.

23/08/2025

What a fun and exciting round of Trivia yesterday, with 6 teams participating!! Just over $600 was raised for our breakfast program, absolutely incredible! Congratulations to team “Bohos” on the win 🏆!!! Congratulations to Bobby & Becca Vines for winning the raffle!!

We can’t express enough grattitude to the Cotacachi community for coming out and showing your support. A special thanks goes to Joel Kaplan for being the best MC, our beloved “Voice of Cotacachi”.

Coo Coo’s Nest Restaurant, yet again, did a fantastic job with meeting all of our needs, making sure everyone was well fed and hydrated, and giving us a wonderful donation.

Many laughs were had and the competition was fierce. We look forward to our next Trivia event! Again, thank you all for the continued support ❤️

Please consider helping us to continue the much needed benefit to our elders here in Cotacachi, Ecuador. You can use the link below for safe and direct donations through PayPal.

Donations can be directly made with this link: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?business=donations%40ecuadorprojecthope.org&item_name=Ecuador+Project+Hope¤cy_code=USD

15/08/2025

29/07/2025

We have 4 teams already signed up!! Come have some fun and support a great cause!!

Please join us for another round of fun and friendly competition for Trivia!! August 22nd, 3:30PM - 6:00PM, Coo Coo’s Nest Restaurant 🥳

23/07/2025

Please join us for another round of fun and friendly competition for Trivia!! August 22nd, 3:30PM - 6:00PM, Coo Coo’s Nest Restaurant 🥳

13/06/2025

Greetings to all from Place of Hope/Lugar de Esperanza. We have a bit of catching up to do on our happenings.

A big thank you and hug goes to Deb Angus for donating April’s proceeds of the Thrift Store to us. The $453.00 will provide food for 2.5 weeks, approximately 700 meals. We are currently providing around 200-250 meals a week. Deb & Dan do so much for all the local foundations here in Cotacachi.

One of our elders, Gonzalo, had his glasses stolen, so we thought we could help him get a new pair. We instructed him to go see the Optomologist Paulina Proana at Golden Vision Optica on Calle Bolivar here in Cotacachi. Not only did she provide his exam at no cost but gave a very nice discount on his new glasses. It really is wonderful how local people help us to make someone’s life a bit better. Her kind heart is truly appreciated.

Another big thanks goes to Bill & Ann Henry for setting up an account for us at Luis’ Store in Cotacachi on 10 de Agosto. At the store we can get staple items such as rice, lentils, etc. We truly appreciate your kindness in supporting our project.

In other news: This week we had a student from Las Lomos school help out at the kitchen as part of her studies. Next week we will have another student volunteering also. We enjoy sharing our project with the younger generation. Hopefully it will inspire future efforts in helping people in need.

Please consider helping us to continue the much needed benefit to our elders here in Cotacachi, Ecuador. You can use the link below for safe and direct donations through PayPal.

Donations can be directly made with this link: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?business=donations%40ecuadorprojecthope.org&item_name=Ecuador+Project+Hope¤cy_code=USD

19/04/2025

Congratulations to Shades of Grey Matter for their trivia win yesterday!!! We had 7 teams compete, totaling 34 players. What a great time had by all!! We raised $295 for Place of Hope and another $235 for the family of Maria Olga to help with her medical costs. A big thank you to everyone that came to support us, have some fun, and laughs.

A big kudos goes to Coo Coo’s Nest restaurant for the impeccable service, great food, and donation. This was our first time hosting Trivia and we could not have asked for a better location to hold this event. We can’t wait for the next one!!!

Hope you all enjoy this holiday weekend 🐣

Please consider helping us to continue the much needed benefit to our elders here in Cotacachi, Ecuador. You can use the link below for safe and direct donations through PayPal.

Donations can be directly made with this link: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?business=donations%40ecuadorprojecthope.org&item_name=Ecuador+Project+Hope¤cy_code=USD

18/04/2025

Feliz Pascuas/Happy Easter to all from Place of Hope/Lugar de Esperanza. Easter here in Cotacachi, Ecuador is one of the most important times of year. One of the most delicious traditions is a dish called Fanesca. Last Friday, April 11, our elders enjoyed this traditional meal made by our wonderful cooks, Veronica Guaman and Veronica Guajan. 68 servings were served 🥣

Fanesca is an Ecuadorian soup that is served country wide throughout the six weeks of Lent. The 12 “grains” used to make it include a combination of beans and vegetables that represent the 12 apostles of Jesus. The salted fish, which can be cod or mackerel, represents Jesus (fish is an ancient Christian symbol).

Some of our elders contributed to the Fanesca meal. They donated beans, corn, milk, and other needed ingredients. One of our voluteers attempted to make the little fried flour balls that garnishes the soup/stew but in the end had to have the help from our cooks to figure out the recipe and successfully make them 💕

There are other ways you can become part of this wonderful group. Please consider becoming part of our donation family. Without the help of our donors none of this would be possible. You can use the link below to make a secure donation through PayPal. Thank you in advance for considering to help our breakfast program.

For those of you who live here in Cotacachi, if you see Heidi Small, Susan Bussey, or Chuck Bussey out and about in town you can always give them a donation as well.

Donations can be directly made with this link: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?business=donations%40ecuadorprojecthope.org&item_name=Ecuador+Project+Hope¤cy_code=USD

You can also visit our website at: www.ecuadorprojecthope.org

17/04/2025

News from Place of Hope

Today we received a message from Andres Granja, our friend at JetBlue.
A very large package was waiting for us at Servientrega in Cotacachi. Inside were donations from the JetBlue team in Guayaquil.

They sent lots of tuna, rice, oats, pasta, lentils, beans, barley, máchica (for thickening the colada drink), and bullion. And there was a very sweet note signed by each of those who donated.

This donation will help with our meals for the next few weeks, and we are very grateful for your donation.

We love you, JetBlue! Thank you so much!

Please consider helping us to continue the much needed benefit to our elders here in Cotacachi, Ecuador. You can use the link below for safe and direct donations through PayPal.

Donations can be directly made with this link: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?business=donations%40ecuadorprojecthope.org&item_name=Ecuador+Project+Hope¤cy_code=USD

You can also visit our website at: www.ecuadorprojecthope.org