FFGE Summer 2026 Newsletter
August 25, 2026
Summer 2026 Newsletter
Dear Friends,
I am happy to share the latest news from For Future Generations, Ecuador! www.forthefuturege.com
I’d like to begin by expressing our thanks to all of our donors who are making this work possible.
First, an update on the students… they are why we have this program. We now have 23 students (down from 2 in May because 2 just graduated. In Ecuador, students graduate in the Spring and fall. See their pictures and stories below. We are opening applications for 5 more students to join FFGE this week!
As I have said in the past, demand is great, even from just the Parish of Guangaje, because more students are graduating from high school, delaying marriage or childbearing, and aspiring to a professional career to improve their standard of living and have a more fulfilling work life compared to the very difficult subsistence farming and sheep ranching of their parents. This is a HUGE cultural shift in expectations for young people and their families in indigenous communities.
FFGE Graduates
Our two new graduates are pictured here on the “Wall of Heroes” …all the students that have graduated get their picture on the wall in the meeting room of our student dormitory. 😊
· One young man graduated with a bachelor's degree in Spanish Education from the Universidad Nacional de Chimborazo. He is qualified to teach Spanish in grades 1-12 (like our English teachers). His mother died before he went to college, and his father got very sick during college and then passed away. Before he died, he implored his son to finish his studies. He is the first in his family to attend and complete a college degree. He is interested in pursuing a PhD in Spanish to conduct research on the relationship between Spanish and his native language, Quichua.
· The other young man graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Universidad de las Fuerzas Armadas, ESPE; formerly called Escuela Politécnica del Ejército, Army Polytechnic School. It is a very demanding school. He is from Comuna Guangaje, and the youngest of 10 children. His father has passed away, and his mother has health issues. He works in Latacunga for an automotive manufacturing organization. He is very active in volunteering, doing outreach, and helping his community.
Monthly Mentoring Meeting
Monthly Mentoring Meeting. Each month the scholarship students that are in town (almost all return home on the weekends, even from Quito), meet to have fellowship, talk about their studies, express any concerns they have with their finances and organize to do community service. Rodrigo Ilaquiche and his wife, Florinda Guanacaste, both lead the monthly meeting and develop very close, personal relationships with each of our scholarship students. All our students are first-generation college students, so their parents may not be able to give them career advice. We are recruiting additional mentors, preferably working in the areas the students are studying, so that we can provide career advice and direction in addition to personal mentoring.
New Board Member! Carola Del Rocio Cortez Flores
Carola Cortez is the director of the social service arm of the Cotopaxi Provincial Government. Prior to that, she was the Director of a public health center in the Latacunga area. She has an RN degree from U. Tecnica de Ambato and a master’s in health and wellness from U. Andrés Bello in Chile! We work closely with Carola on the medical brigades in Cotopaxi and with the Positive Youth Development Program (PYD). She is committed to expanding the scholarship program and the PYD program beyond Guangaje to other areas of Cotopaxi Province. Carola will be our 5th Ecuadorian Board Member. She and the other Ecuadorians provide culturally sensitive input to the direction of our foundation.
FFGE Positive Youth Development Program team presenting at the UNC at the Global Social Development Innovation Symposium
Our Positive Youth Development program is making a big difference in the lives of the students in Guangaje. Now in its 3rd year, the program has been very successful in substantially raising grades, improving school culture (as reported by teachers and students), and measurably improving youth’s self-confidence and vision for the future.
The Ministry of Health has recognized the program as “An Innovative Program in Social-Emotional Health.” We are presenting as invited speakers at a symposium at the University of Chapel Hill, NC. We are applying for grants to expand the program to 10 schools in indigenous and poor regions in Cotopaxi.
Our team overseeing the Positive Youth Development Program has expanded from 3 to 6. Emilia Valdivieso, MD has been our program director, putting in countless hours and traveling to Guangaje monthly; and Marisol Bahamonde, MD, Associate Dean of the College of Medicine at USFQ, have provided great oversight of the program, which is now getting significant recognition. We have added Amelia Malquin and Sofia Campoverde, and Abigail Naula, MD, to the team. They will help us direct and expand the program as Emilia Valdivieso, MD, moves on to do her Pediatric Residency.
One last thing. We recently applied to Global Giving, an international non-profit organization that helps raise awareness and support for non-profit organizations around the world. Look for us at: www.globalgiving.org. However, please continue to donate directly to us, as they necessarily provide a fee for their service of representing us to the world via their website. Thank you!