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Yellow Orb Over Puerto Lopez, Ecuador #AtoZChallenge
A Yellow Orb (YO) arrives every morning in Puerto Lopez, Ecuador at 6:30, dazzling us with it’s beauty. It silently preys on our eagerness to celebrate beneath it. It’s primary victims are tourists, freshly arrived from cooler climates, where they have been protected by clothing for months. They arrive, strip off most of their fabric and offer their skin up to the YO. Ecuador is named for the equator, which runs through the middle of the country. Did you know? The Earth is closer to the sun at the equator than elsewhere because of our planet’s Equatorial Bulge. As it spins, the Earth forms an oblate spheroid rather than a sphere.…
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International Aid Tents – From Post-Earthquake Tent City to Traveling Circus
“Sometimes by not knowing the truth we make incorrect judgments about situations” — Sunday Adelaja What happened to tents from Ecuador’s post-earthquake tent cities? After the April 16, 2016 devastating 7.8 Ecuador earthquake, international aid organizations raced to Ecuador, assisting those who lost everything. Aid organizations set up tent camps where families who lost their homes lived, some for a few weeks, some for many months, a few for more than a year. As Ecuador recovered from the earthquake, families, one by one, vacated the tents and moved into new homes. A second life with the circus When the circus came to Puerto Lopez recently, performers set up their…
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#WATWB – Clean Drinking Water
This is my first post for the We Are The World Blogfest, which occurs on the last Friday of every month. I chose a story I wrote about a man providing clean drinking water to thousands in coastal Ecuador. A few weeks after the April 16, 2016 7.8 Ecuador earthquake, Tennessee pastor Gary Vance arrived in Puerto Lopez. He had a suitcase full of water filters and a plan – provide clean drinking water for those who needed it. Installed water filter post-earthquake, Ecuador Photo courtesy of Gary Vance Gary has made six trips to Ecuador since the earthquake, spent 88 days in country, delivered 1000 filters, and documented…
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Water. Clean Drinking Water #AtoZChallenge
Drinking tap water in coastal Ecuador is a great way to get parasites. Or worse. — EJB A few weeks after the April 16, 2016 7.8 Ecuador earthquake, Tennessee pastor Gary Vance arrived in Puerto Lopez. He had a suitcase full of water filters and a plan – provide clean drinking water for those who needed it. Clean water welcomed in a tent camp Photo courtesy of Gary Vance He offered to install a water filter for the Olon orphanage. We went there the next morning. Gary installed a filter and trained a thrilled staff on maintaining it. Water filter installed at the Olon Orphanage Photo courtesy of Gary…