By: Emily Churchill, Community Development Fellow
At Manna Project Ecuador, we often run fundraisers and events for our own community center, but it’s a real treat when we get to help out with events for our partner organizations!
In December, I was fortunate enough to attend a fundraiser for Antorcha de Vida, one of our partner organizations that serves local youth with a range of physical and learning disabilities. Antorcha is one of our most important partner organizations for its long history with Manna Project and the deep bond that our volunteers form with their community.
I was able to help out with a fundraiser they held in congruence with a larger fundraiser for several nonprofits in the region. The event entailed a contest of guagas de pan and colada morada (traditional Ecuadorian treats for All Saint’s Day) held in a shopping mall in downtown Sangolquí. The contest was judged by local beauty queens and well-known musicians.
I got to help some of Antorcha’s volunteers sell guagas & colada morada to the attendees of the event. And we were able to sell a ton! It was so inspiring to see the earnings that Antorcha was able to take home from the event to support their efforts.
At the event, I got to know one of Antorcha’s volunteers, who like me, also sings and plays the guitar. As we were chatting, the MC of the event announced that anyone who could come up on stage to sing a song would win tickets to a concert held in the local stadium the following weekend. Before I knew it, I was being dragged up on stage with my new friend in front of an audience of a hundred people to sing in front of them.
My heart was pounding. I’m used to performing in the U.S., but now I would have to choose a song to sing for an Ecuadorian audience. I chose a small Mexican tune that I know and sang a few bars of it. Everyone smiled and clapped and I ran off the stage in shock by what had just happened.
The following weekend, I was able to attend the concert with my new friend from Antorcha. It was one of the silliest but most memorable experiences I’ve had over my first few months with Manna!
