Ecuador: SIFAT Doctor in your House – July Update

Click here to learn more about SIFAT Doctor in your House program.

Click here to read our June update about SIFAT Doctor in your House.

Dear Doctor in your House supporters,

Because you cared, hundreds of children and the elderly in SIFAT projects in Ecuador have not gone to bed hungry. Because you cared, so many who were unable to find medical care during this pandemic are able to talk to a doctor and have much needed medicines provided. Because of your generosity, the people we serve in Ecuador know they are not alone in this critical time. Thank you!

Pastors in each of our projects have sent stories and photographs telling us about those who have no other place to turn. The coronavirus has spread quickly in Ecuador, and Quito has been on virtual lockdown for many months. There is no work, no government services and no food or medicines available for those in the communities in which we work with SIFAT teams. It really is a desperate time for most families living there.

Dr. Roberto Contreras, SIFAT’s director in Ecuador, has been having teleconference calls with patients from a different project site each week. Our SIFAT graduate pastors and community leaders make sure those with the greatest need are the first to receive care, and at least one month of medicines are given to each patient. He also provides vitamins for the children who are malnourished and makes sure those who need specialists have referrals in place as soon as it’s possible to travel again in the city. Dr. Roberto has been especially attentive to the elderly, many of whom have dementia, ongoing medical conditions and no family to care for them.

Patients in the SIFAT Doctor in your House program receive much needed medications free of charge. To keep this program going through the end of 2020, visit www.sifat.org/sifatdoctorinyourhouse

— In Their Own Words —

Kleber Toapanta and Diana Anguisaca in Calderon

Please receive a big hug and our sincerest thanks for the help you have given during this crisis and quarantine. We pray that God rewards your work.

The Word says that God sustains His children. May God always bless you and protect you. Our prayer is that God will multiply your generosity 100 percent. Thanks for blessing the families of our church. Thank you so much for your great love to our family, too.

In Ecuador, we have experienced the sadness of many people dying, while others, like us, are suffering because of job loss. We have waited on God and He always provides.

During this quarantine, we cannot go out to visit our families or brothers in Christ. But God has supported us in other ways. Pastor Raul and his family lead worship through social networks, and SIFAT has blessed us with food. God has been faithful to use His servants to provide. We are very grateful that God has provided through SIFAT. We pray God blesses you, that He makes his face shine upon you and that our Lord God keeps you safe.

Kleber and his family received food from the church in Calderon through SIFAT Doctor in your House program. He recently lost his job because of the pandemic. Kleber’s thank you note is below.

— Food for Families —

Manuel Ashqui in Puengasi

Manuel and his wife have five children that are 5-18 years old. He is a mason, while she takes in laundry and cleans houses part time.

During the quarantine, all major construction jobs were halted by the government. Manuel could only find small odd jobs, which do not pay enough to buy food or medicines for his family. The family cannot pay school tuition, so the children are unable to continue their classes from home. The church is working with the school to try to get scholarships for the Ashqui family. However, there are so many families in the same situation that it is going to be difficult to receive five scholarships. The family is praying for a positive answer.

When he received the rice donation from the church, Manuel began crying.  He is very grateful that God made this gift possible—it is a blessing for his family and for the other families in their church.

Manuel and his wife have five children and are part of the church community in Puengasi.

— Virtual House Calls with Dr. Roberto —

Dr. Roberto recently provided virtual house calls for 25 elderly people in Atucucho, many of whom suffer from ongoing conditions and need medicine to manage their conditions. During these video calls, he provided 11 patients with anti-seizure medicine for epilepsy, seven with medicine for hypertension and five with medicine for thyroid conditions. Without Dr. Roberto’s care, these patients would have had no access to these vital medications. For the first round of appointments, he is taking 25 patients from each of the five projects and five extensions. After he finishes these, he will start a second round of appointments.

Our medical teams often leave medications with plans to use them on their next team. After driving restrictions lifted, Dr. Roberto took vitamins that our 2020 teams could not distribute and gave them to projects in Aida Leon, Atucucho and Villaflora’s extensions in Cutuglahua, Machachi and Guamaní. Because of our teams, 270 children, 300 adults and 20 pregnant women will receive these supplements, which are even more important when nutritious food is limited.

Ana Chuez, who lives in Atucucho, is 61 years old and suffers from hypothyroidism. She washes clothes, but no one is hiring. She cannot afford food or medication.

— Thank you for your Support —

Thank you again for answering the needs of those in SIFAT’s projects around Quito. Dr. Roberto has asked to keep this program active through the end of 2020, as COVID-19 continues to spread and conditions in these marginalized communities become more desperate each day. We continue to need your help through prayer and spreading the word about this effort to your friends and churches. Your donations are truly allowing people to survive as we wait for an end to this pandemic. Our prayers are for you all to be safe and stay healthy.

Peggy, Tom, Marie and our SIFAT Ecuador team

— Ways to Give —

1. Donate Online. Use the button below or go to www.sifat.org/donate. Please designate your gift SIFAT Doctor in Your House.

(Remember, SIFAT’s legal name is Southern Institute for Appropriate Technology, so you will see that name on our PayPal page)

2. Mail a Check. Your gift can be mailed to our SIFAT office. Please make checks payable to SIFAT and designate SIFAT Doctor in Your House on the memo line. Send your check to the address below:

SIFAT
2944 County Road 113
Lineville, AL 36266