Submitted by Tami Bohannon, CFRE, Chief Advancement Officer
As a teenager, for me, the time between Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve was memorable– no school, staying up late, sleeping in, family visiting, playing with presents – what’s not to love! But hands down, my favorite part of this time was my annual creation of a list – one side was about gratitude for the past year, and the other was a look forward at what I wanted to accomplish.
So, as the calendar winds down and we begin to turn the page on 2021 into 2022, I’d like to offer that list on behalf of Esperança – where we work to build optimal social, mental, and physical health in under-resourced communities across the globe.
We are grateful for:
Our participants – whether in Arizona, Bolivia, Ecuador, Mexico, Mozambique, Nicaragua, or Peru – want to improve their health or their family's health and, in doing so, make a stronger community and world.
Our donors – you support this work, often sacrificing to ensure those in need receive some services we usually take for granted – medical treatment, clean water, nutritious food, or information on managing our health
Our volunteers - who give of their time, talent, and treasure – whether it’s cooking a meal for seniors in Arizona, sorting medical supplies, or performing surgery - you give generously to improve lives.
Our social media fans – thank you for helping create awareness of the needs that exist for those we serve. You help tell our stories of impact and help us invite others to join us on our mission to improve health and provide hope through disease prevention, education, and treatment for every life we touch.
A look ahead:
Esperança is returning to Surgical Trips in Nicaragua and Ecuador, continuing local brigades in Nicaragua and launching a pilot brigade program in Peru. The waiting lists are long, and COVID has kept us away, but we plan to return when we can.
Harvesting vegetables and fruits from our newly planted community garden in Phoenix. Produce will be used in our demonstration kitchen to teach healthy cooking classes and for Stove to Table, Esperança’s weekly meal delivery program that reaches 200 seniors in need.
Providing Covid and early childhood vaccines to youth in the communities we serve in Arizona with a new initiative we will launch in early 2022.
Our resilient partners are arming international communities with knowledge and supplies to update and improve their crops and systems with sustainable food items that will result in food goods and income to help them thrive.
We will continue getting to know our newest partner Educarte/AIM Peñasco and their work in Puerto Peñasco to provide young people in Mexico with a path out of poverty through education.
Lastly, Team Esperança will welcome new participants and supporters to help us achieve our vision of a world where every person is thriving, creating new possibilities and promising futures.
