Bringing better healthcare and education opportunities to the rural community of Miraflores, Ecuador with the support of 120 Bupa volunteers from all over the world... Mission Accomplished - Center Opened on November 27, 2009!

With incredible passion and dedication of the Martha Estrella Foundation's team, and total sponsorship, commitment and 120 volunteers from Bupa (www.bupa.co.uk), a leading global health and care organization, the rural community of Miraflores will have access to a new "Healthcare and Well Being Community Center" that is going to serve the entire community, starting in December 2009. The center have a primary care clinic, a childcare facility, a community cafeteria, a computer lab with Internet access for after school programs, and rooms for future volunteers.

In addition, the children of Miraflores are benefiting from significant improvements to their the local elementary school, with a virtual learning classroom, a new cafeteria, and Internet access to connect them to the world.

2008: How Project Miraflores began.

Three amazing high school kids from the U.S., Nick Png (Senior - San Jose, CA), Daniel Peng (Senior - Fremont, CA), and Andre Sandoval (Junior - Austin, TX), dedicated 21 days of their 2008 summer volunteering with the Martha Estrella Foundation, under the leadership of Estefania Sandoval, working with the rural community of Miraflores on the initial phase of the “Healthcare and Well Being Community Center”.

This project consists of taking an old abandoned house and transforming it into a new center for children development which is going to serve more than 80 children as a daycare facility, a medical clinic for more than 600 members of the community, and an after-school support center with Internet access and English-learning software for the community. The objective of this project is to allow the children to improve their quality of living, have access to better educational tools, and learn a global language.

With their own time, donation they bring, and community workers and volunteers, Nick, Dan and Andre were were able to complete the initial phase of the project: tearing down the old roof of the house that has 480 m2 (approximately 5,100 sq. feet), and cleaning its 14 rooms.

Video - Project Miraflores July 2008

See more photos here ... Project Miraflores Photo Gallery

2009: Making the project a reality with Bupa's sponsorship.

Bupa, a leading global health and care organization, chose Ecuador in 2009 to support the Martha Estrella Foundation to complete Project Miraflores, and make a real difference to a community in need of health and care facilities.

This is Bupa’s second international community challenge and has doubled in size from the first, allowing 120 staff members from all over the world to get involved in the experience, learning new skills and working along side each other.

This Challenge is completely funded by Bupa, whilst volunteers have raise additional donations towards the Community Center and future health care programmes in association with the Martha Estrella Foundation. The Ecuador Challenge is a sustainable project which will be managed by Bupa Latin America once the build is complete.

This project not only helps the community of Miraflores, but will establish a life-long linkage between Bupa's volunteers, the people of Miraflores, and the Martha Estrella Foundation, serving as a wonderful model to replicate in other communities in need.

Learn more about the amazing contribution that Bupa's volunteers are making at communityconnections.bupa.com/category/bupa-ecuador-challenge-2009/