Thank you very much for taking the time to read our newsletter. This time we are sharing the story of Helen from Ecuador and also, for the very last time… news about concluding our work in Nepal! We hope you enjoy reading!

As you know, we completed our projects in Nepal in 2022. In that year, as a follow-up to our collaboration, Chooda, Chabbi and Rajan launched the SETC – Self Employment Training Center – set up with temporary support from Orange Angels and Wilde Ganzen from the Netherlands.

We recently spoke to them and they told us that 140 people (of which 97% were women and 3% were men) had completed tailoring training. Of these, 119 obtained the training certificate last year and the other 21 will also be able to complete the training in April 2023. This is fantastic news! About 30 people who have completed the training are already working in the clothing industry. They are motivated and believe that this will help them in self-employment and provide them with a better future.

The current tailor training is basic. In the future, Chooda, Chabbi and Rajan also want to focus on a designer training of 6-9 months. This year, the focus is on financial independence, because the centre will sell the clothes that are made. We are very happy and especially grateful for the independence of the project in Nepal. We are also proud of our colleagues for what they have been able to achieve. FUNDCCIN Nepal many thanks for the great cooperation over the past 20 years. All the best!

My name is Helen. I am 17 years old and I am from Quito. My daughter’s name is Ashley. She will be one year old next month. At the moment I live with my mother, who I take care of. She has an intellectual disability. My older sister and I care deeply about her. We’ve been taking care of her for as long as I can remember. My sister is now 24 years old. She is married and has two children, whom I adore. She wanted to leave home to start a family of her own, so she would no longer see my parents fight.

My parents met more than 25 years ago. They regularly ran into each other at a bus station. They decided to go to Quito together, looking for new and better economic opportunities. My mother works, she washes clothes and looks for food every day. My father lived on the street. He was always under the influence of alcohol. When he lived at home, he abused my mother and it hurt me a lot. My sister and I tried to defend her. Four months ago, my father died due to alcohol.

During the pandemic, I started using marijuana and alcohol with a boy who lived next door and some classmates, because I couldn’t stand what was happening at home anymore. It made me so very angry. At first, I did it for fun, to forget everything for a while, but I didn’t know it could get me into so much trouble. I lost all interest in school. At school, they noticed this and they informed the authorities asking to put me in a centre for drugs and alcohol. I was very scared of this idea. They said the police would come and get me, but I said I wouldn’t leave my mother alone. Nothing happened.

In 2021 I started dating my neighbor David, who was my age. We fell in love and I got pregnant. Then I came into contact with DCF. They guided me. Luckily I was able to stay with my mother. Thanks to the pregnancy and birth of my daughter, I stopped using drugs, although David still does. My daughter was born at home. I was able to continue studying from my own home and I was allowed to hand in the schoolwork. It is now more important for me to work, study, and take care of my daughter and mother. She still needs me and we help each other. With David, we tried to live together, but because of the many quarrels, it was better for us to separate.

I would like to become a professional one day. The people of DCF listen to me and care about what I think and feel. Thanks to them, the authorities listened to me as well. Moreover, they support me to set up my shop where I sell “bolones de platano verde” (a traditional dish of green banana and cheese) so I can spend more time with Ashley.

As part of our partnership with Family Power – Mutual Learning, we have been working on a video over the past few months that highlights the importance of alternative family care. The accompanying video, therefore, shows how DCF works. The girl in the video grew up in a children’s home because, according to the authorities, her mother could not take good care of her. Once grown up, the girl ended up in the same situation, only she came into contact with alternative care and through dialogue, other options were found.

We have not been able to thank everyone personally this year. We apologize for that. However, we are extremely grateful for the extra donations for the 20th anniversary of DCF and the extra donations we received during the Christmas & New Year period from all the anonymous and non-anonymous donors. We would like to thank all Cape Capital AG colleagues for the

wonderful and heart-warming Christmas campaign. We greatly appreciate this. With your support, we can continue our important work and make the world a little more colourful. Of course also many thanks to those involved who very often provide a fixed contribution. Thank you for your heart-warming involvement!

Cordial greetings,
Alex, Nicoline, Helma and Barbara – Daniëlle Children’s Fund

Do you want to give colour and light to the lives of young people like Helen, then feel free to (or continue to) support our work. Thank you very much! With your contribution, you help us enormously to make this important work possible and continue. You can help us with payment via:
IBAN: NL23ABNA0621779652
Daniëlle Children’s Fund
Noordwijk
BIC: ABNANL2A