We here at the Ecuadent Foundation are overjoyed to share with you the good news! Operation Mary-Dor is now complete! Our container, that we spent all summer packing with precious PPE, medical, and food supplies, finally arrived in Ecuador. The Ecuadorian Navy has diligently distributed the PPE and medical supplies to military hospitals where civilians are being treated for Covid19. The donations were distributed in accordance with the Navy's agreement with the Ecuadent Foundation. The Naval Heath Department received PPE for use in regional clinics. The hospitals that received donations include the Hospital Naval in the City of Esmeraldas, Armed Forces Speciality Hospital in the City of Quito, Hospital Naval in the City of Guayaquil, and Hospital Isidro Ayora in the City of Loja. In addition, the Navy distributed the non-perishable food to some of the poorest barrios throughout the coastal region of Ecuador. These are areas that have suffered serious economic consequences as a result of the pandemic. Most of the residents of these neighborhoods are street vendors. The Navy ensured that designated supplies like clothing, stollers, diapers, school supplies, and food were donated to the Orfanato Virgen de Loreto in the City of Esmeraldas. The Ecuadent Foundation has been providing medical and dental care to these orphans for many years. The Ecuadorian Navy produced two videos showing the distribution of all of the supplies. We are excited to share these videos with you! Please take a look as the videos below! We want to thank all of our volunteers and donors from the bottom of our hearts! We recognize that during the pandemic, there is so much need here at home and abroad, so we really appreciate every donation of funding, supplies, and time. Without our generous donors, none of this would have been possible. THANK YOU! Specifically, we would like to thank the Maryland Secretary of State John Wobensmith, the Deputy Secretary Luis Borunda, Volunteer Nurse Deborah Skovron, Volunteer Ryan Coster, Volunteer Alex Zunca, and everyone else who volunteered for Operation Mary-Dor. Also critical to our mission are The CocoCabana Bar & Grill and EMD Sales, Inc. We thank them for volunteering storage space for all of the supplies. In Ecuador, we extend our sincere thanks to the Ecuadorian Navy for being wonderful partners and caring for the Ecuadorian civilian community.
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We are underway, with our precious cargo to Ecuador! Ecuadent is very appreciative of everyone's efforts that got us to this point and we are excited to keep you all posted on the next phase, distribution, once the container is safely in port. Here is where the operation currently stands.
Operation Mary-Dor has enjoyed great support in the form of collections, individual donors, and backing from other humanitarian aid organizations, local business leaders, the Secretary of State of Maryland’s office, and the Consulate of Ecuador since its inception. This is one of the most ambitious and important missions that Ecuadent has undergone in its 30-year history. Fortunately for us we have stellar contributions from many of you in the form of your expertise and initiative to get involved. Thank you. We began by ordering PPE, disinfectants, and medicine from Blessings International that was most urgently needed. We launched our public campaign shortly after and am happy to report that we raised almost $18,000 from mostly private donations! The outpouring of support has been astounding and we have used these funds to directly save lives down in Ecuador by gathering medical supplies that will keep doctors and healthcare workers safe and medicines that will help treat infected patients. The situation down in Guayaquil has improved since the early days of the pandemic's arrival in Ecuador, however Quito and the hospitals in the city have been facing wave after wave of infections, becoming the new hot spot in the country. The Navy has taken a lead, as you could expect, in the nation’s response. The government has passed a new law that permits civilians to be treated at military facilities to relieve pressure off public hospitals. Ecuadent took charge of the logistics of gathering all supplies and readying pallets of supplies, water, and non-perishable food to send in a shipping container as if we were prepping a normal medical/dental mission. We took great care to secure everything before the container was sealed and loaded for its voyage. We expect that the container will arrive in a couple weeks as both Ecuadent and the Navy are monitoring its progress down to Ecuador. Once the container arrives in the Guayaquil port, the Navy will act quickly to remove it from customs and begin the distribution. We look forward to posting updates to our website so that volunteers, donors, and the public can see these lifesaving supplies get into the hands of people that need them the most. Our first donations of food are being distributed in the city of Atuntaqui in Ecuador! Food items such as rice, bread, flour, pasta, and tuna are being delivered to vulnerable families in the area. We greatly appreciate your support to continue providing resources and care to those in need in Ecuador. Operation Mary-Dor has wasted no time to begin collecting much needed supplies and food to be sent down to Ecuador as part of our humanitarian relief mission. We still need your generous help to make this a reality! Leaders and representatives of the Maryland Secretary of State, the Ecuadorian Consulate in Washington D.C., the Healing Hands Foundation, and Ecuadent Foundation come together to explain the on-going crisis in Ecuador and launch the mission of Operation Mary-Dor as a grassroots campaign of emergency relief from neighbor to neighbor. |