The initiative of Soñar Despierto (Dreaming Awake)

When they talk to me about the NGO ‘’Soñar Despierto’’, the first thing I think about is if the job of the volunteers of this association really consists in putting to practice what its name means. After being lucky enough to have worked with them and to have witnessed their amazing labor, I realize that they truly make you feel everything that their name evokes, you dream awake.

We arrived with excitement and nerves as it was our first initiative as an NGO. Even though it has nothing to do with the aims and objectives of Más Por Ellos, these raids are part of a whole which fills us and gives us the strength to keep pursuing our goals.

We met with Elisa Albella at the door, who I understand is the pioneer of the volunteering that takes place in Madrid, who not only has made the NGO known by many, but has also involved a lot of people in the simplest way, giving an example to all. In fact, almost all her friends are or have been involved in more than one activity of Soñar Despierto.

I would like to emphasize the human quality of these people, that like many other volunteers in Madrid, show us that it isn’t necessary to go far away to help, and that one can complete their professional formation with a human one, helping in associations like this one. 

Soñar Despierto’s activities are mainly directed to kids and teenagers that come from marginal families with the aim of facilitating their integration. They are kids full of hope, curiosity and joy who listened and got very actively involved in the brief explanation of the activity we proposed to them, whilst they rubbed their hands conjuring up a way in which they would carry it out! A few cardboards and a row of buckets full of paint were ready on the tables waiting for these kids to begin.

‘’Maybe it’s the kids with the worst luck, who most value the work of the NGO we are talking to them about’’ I thought surprised by their patient and attentive attitude.

After 10 minutes of explanation, I saw in Diego’s face (a 5 year old boy) an expression that seemed to be telling me ‘’I think I’ve been good enough!’’ which was followed by the question ‘’Can we paint now?’’. Yes. Madness broke out and the room was filled with colors, laughs and happy faces.

The aim was to explain to them what Más Por Ellos was about, and later on, give them the opportunity to paint, with the hope of finding a young Picasso who would give us the idea for our logo. Picasso II was not within our audience, but we kept the amazing experience for future talks in other associations like this one. We kept the happiness of that day, and a new friend; Soñar Despierto.

Álvaro Mesonero Romanos

With thanks to Soñar Despierto and Más Por Ellos team: Amada Maxwell, Critina Aguirre, Ximena Pan de Soraluce and Ignacio Ruiz-Gallardon who helped us have an amazing afternoon!

The Ivory Coast is probably a country that you may not be able to locate on the African map, and wonder whether it’s big or small, rich or poor… but at least you know it’s in Africa. That’s exactly what happened to me a month ago.

My name is Carlos, and last June, a few days after finishing my university entrance exams, I set off with a few friends from school to the Ivory Coast, one of the poorest countries in Africa due to the constant fight for power between the governments and the army. Almost seventy of us went to volunteer for three weeks, building a school in a village in the tropical ivory jungle, called Djangobo.

During those three weeks, I started to slowly realize the great help we were giving them, even though on the first or second day no one was aware of it. You begin to see how people live with what they have on and don’t aim for much more, and that what you’re helping achieve means a thousand times more for them than it does for you. They were never tired of thanking us, and during 4 of the 16 nights we were there, they came to our houses and performed dances and songs to us as a token of their appreciation. Now I realize that they probably won’t receive more help like the one we gave them in a long time.

After these days, the culture and the people make you change. You look at the Ivory coast, or at the whole of Africa, in a completely different way. It’s no longer another place where people send their money, it’s a whole continent that needs us.

Now I’m back in Madrid, and my father shows me the initiative of Más Por Ellos, and as a volunteer who has already been in contact with Africa, I must help this project in order to help many more people.

To finish, here are a few pictures. The first is very expressive…it’s not me, it’s a friend. The building was finished, as you can see in the second picture, as proof that 70 young 18 year old guys are more useful than it seems!

Carlos Irisarri Suárez-Llanos. July 2013

Más Por Ellos supports social enterprises

SOCIAL ENTERPRISES. This is another one of the pillars of Más Por Ellos. Until now we have concentrated on explaining how we are going to cover basic and humanitarian needs for the orphan children, where we will put most of our energy during the first few years. This doesn’t mean that we will put aside the social enterprise project and the network which we intend to create, but in order to do this well, first we need to know the community in which we are going to grow and understand their real needs so that we can figure out what is the best way to create our network.

We believe that social enterprises are another, very useful option that can solve many problems. Our project, from the beginning, has one main goal; to be sustainable. This will happen when there is a source of income beyond donations and other help. The aim is to finance small social businesses, through microcredits that will be given via our internet platform (COOFUND), which we will monitor and follow up so that they meet our global aims. Our idea is that these businesses, that will share certain principles and values, give a part of their income/profits to the maintenance of the orphanage, in such a way that in the long run the project will be sustainable and economically self-sufficient. 

Social enterprises, as we understand them, are enterprises which look for an economical AND social benefit. The values and principles that define their structure are not only economical, but also have a real and clear commitment with the community in which they carry out their activity. The crisis in which we are all immersed, has proved that the pure capitalist system is not able to give solutions that are sustainable or that generate stability or growth in the long run in a community. Its these social enterprises that are giving a new solution to the problem and that have demonstrated (Ashoka, Gramen Bank…etc) that with work and clear principles, what we understand as ‘development’ can be generated.

Más Por Ellos intends to develop a community in all its aspects, in such a way that all the actors within it will be involved and believe in us so that in the future, they can grow all together and slowly change society.

"The problems that you have today, cannot be solved thinking in the same way you thought when you created them" Albert Einstein.

First days in Kibera

Each day in Kenya is a new adventure. Without going much further, yesterday, we decided to go to Makuyu, an area that I knew from my past trips. A few matatus (buses) later we had arrived at the road intersection between Makuyu and Pundamilia. To my surprise, the road looked like a European highway. Last time I was there, it was under construction, but I never imagined it would ever be finished. I was told this road had been built by Chinese who had brought not only their materials but also their workmen. 

Some say that as they advanced towards the north, all the dogs in the area went missing. It seems like they also know here the value that dog meat has in China. Eric couldn’t stop laughing as he told us this story.

When we reached the intersection and we were waiting for the matatu to bring us closer to Makuyu village, I saw a sign that said; ´´MEGG’S PROPERTY-LAND FOR SALE.’’ When I approached the sign to write down the number, I saw the office was just there. In the office they told me about the lands they have on sale, and 20 minutes later we were10km from the office seeing several plots. We weren’t very amazed by the lands, but we were lucky to have met Megg. Megg is a woman who has lived 20 years in Germany, and after seeing her kids grow, she decided to go back to her country and give back some of her luck to her neighbours. She is developing an admirable project. She has built three shops that are going to be the beginning of a new village, bringing electricity from a 10km distance and completely developing the area. She hasn’t stopped there. She has bought an incubator in which she is raising chickens, peasants, turkeys…etc and teaching the local men, the great advantages that these animals can offer. 

On the way back we saw another plot, this one looked better and it was cheaper. The driver that had accompanied us throughout the whole trip had become our friend, and I asked him to take us to our next destination, Watoto Wa Baraka.

Watoto Wa Barata was the orphanage I had been in when I came to Kenya the first time and where I met Eric. The experience I lived when I was there was unforgettable; a mixture of love and hate that brought me to where I am now. Love because at that moment I felt like I was doing what I truly liked. Hate because I saw that although a lot of help was reaching the people, a lot of it was also staying on the way.

I was able to see a lot of the kids who I had been with when I was last there. They had grown a lot, it’s been almost 4 years. This wasn’t the only thing that had changed. A lot of the kids had left and there was not even one of the workers from the time I was here. We soon had to leave because it was getting late, but I was very happy just to be with them and know that they were well.

As we were walking back to Makuyu, we were talking to John, an old friend that had a shop next to the orphanage. John told us everything that had happened at Watoto Wa Baraka. A lot of stories I had already heard, but that always change when they go from mouth to mouth. These stories are the ones that have made Mas Por Ellos have a reason to be, and that transparency is the most characteristic note that will govern our association. This is another story we will talk about in the future in more detail.

We have seen almost 20 plots of land since we arrived, all of which are in Central Highland Province, in the centre of Kenya. It is less than an hour away from Nairobi, towards the north, and it is the greenest and most fertile land in Kenya. Almost anything can be planted here; coffee, bananas, corn, lima beans… and a great part of the population that lives here, does so because of the characteristics and weather conditions. During the months of June and July, the temperatures go down to 15-20 degrees, and between October and December, monsoon season arrives, and doesn’t stop raining for weeks. The soil is prepared to absorb this amount of water and there are no floods. If anything, big puddles and a lot of mud can be seen while those that live there walk around in water boots!

We have identified the area and we are in contact with a few landlords, negotiating prices which get very high as soon as they see that we are muzungus. Soon we will have our place in Kenya and we will be able to say that Más Por Ellos is a reality. Our dream has just begun!

Álvaro

"Only one thing makes a dream impossible: fear of failure." Paulo Coelho

Wanting is achieving

‘’He who wants to, can make it, achieve it, follow through and obtain it.’’

This is what got me hooked, although a little later than the rest, onto the dream of Más Por Ellos. I am Carlota Carbó, I’m 23 years old and I’ve graduated from the university of ICADE with a degree in Law and International Relations. At the moment I am working in Seeliger and Conde, a headhunting company.

During my years at university, I did a lot of volunteering but never managed to quench my thirst of doing more. Last winter I organized a food collect for the Madrid Food Bank (Banco de Alimentos de Madrid) via facebook. It was a huge success. In less than two months I collected 11,500kg of non-perishable food from all over Madrid. I imagine it was because of this that Nacho decided to call me and tell me about the project, thinking that I could surely have some ideas for Más Por Ellos. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I felt passionate about the project and couldn’t stop thinking of what would be the best way to help them, so I met up with Alvaro and offered my help. 

Since then, not a lot of time has passed, but we have advanced greatly. Without almost realizing it, Alvaro is in Kenya looking for a plot of land to start building our orphanage and our school.

I’m sure we would all like to go to Kenya and help him, but we’re aware that Más Por Ellos needs help in both countries. In Kenya you can see more clearly what can be done to help, you’re in the battle field and living everything first hand. Those of us who stay in Madrid, have to manage everything that’s necessary so that the work done in Kenya has a long-lasting effect, so that the effort put into the work in Kenya doesn’t just disappear into thin air. One could say we are Alvaro’s support in Madrid. From here, we are taking care of building the key tool of Más Por Ellos - our internet platform- and our corporative web page. Both play a very important role in this project.

We are also making ourselves known through social networks. We try to keep our blog updated with quality content at the same time as we are present daily in other more direct social networks like; Facebook (Más Por Ellos), Twitter (@masporellos) and Instagram (@masporellos). I encourage you to follow us so that you don’t miss a single detail. Our architectural project is starting, planning and budgeting the construction of the school and orphanage.

I think we are a very complete team, as each of us has studied something different and can therefore contribute different things to Más Por Ellos. We work well as a team and know how to organize and share the tasks, so that nothing is left undone and everything is done as soon as possible. Perhaps our young age and our short professional experience can be disadvantageous for us, but knowing this, we can make this weakness our strong point, taking advantage of our energy and the eagerness we have to make this dream come true.

If anyone asked my why I’m part of Más Por Ellos, I would say that most of what I have in my life, I didn’t work for. I was lucky enough to have been born in a family that was able to give me all the opportunities in the world. After taking these opportunities, I feel obliged to create these opoortunities for those people that were not born with my luck. 

This is where I put my theory into action;

He who wants to, can make it, achieve it, follow through and obtain it.

I want to, with this team I can, and I’m sure we will achieve it, follow through and obtain it, always with your help.

Thank you very much,

Carlota

The story of Más Por Ellos

We would like to share with you a letter received from a very good friend who explains better than anyone, how this project was born.

"Don‘t fool yourselves. Mas Por Ellos is not an NGO, nor is it a social enterprise. Mas Por Ellos is a story. A story of intuition, willpower, courage and team work. A story of how to make a dream come true."

‘’Dreams create life, and you only live if you achieve your dreams.’’

I will never forget the day that Alvaro Perez Pla, years ago, told me during a summer’s night, that in September he was beginning his adventure through Kenya. His idea was to go for 6 months to help African orphans, to help build a school and to do as much as he could to improve the lives of those people. ‘’He’s gone mad’’, I immediately thought.

However, that thought lasted a short time in my head. His plan sounded like temporary madness, probably caused by the mixture of a hangover, the Mediterranean heat, a football match at 5pm and a few more drinks that same night. These variables gave little to no credibility and seriousness to the conversation we were having.

As if I didn’t know him. Not even a month later, we all met for dinner at an Italian restaurant to say goodbye to our friend. When I realized he was serious, I tried to convince him to forget about this crazy mission he was trying to carry out. I tried to explain how ridiculous it was to drop out of university for a semester when he was in the middle of his degree, how crazy it was for him to go alone to Kenya to help kids whilst risking his physical and psychological integrity. The ‘’madness’’ of not going out on a Thursday night in Madrid or not being able to go to the Pyrenees to ski in Christmas. 

All of this was unthinkable for me, used to the security my home gives me. Of course, I never succeeded at convincing him. And it’s a good thing that I didn’t.

When he came back, something in him had changed. What he lived there would have made any other person never want to go back to the Black Continent. What would have made any other person lose their craving to help orphans in Kenya, made Alvaro need to go back. It was the reason his life and his way of seeing reality changed. Africa had turned into Alvaro’s destiny.

This is only one story of the many that changed the lives of the founders of Mas Por Ellos. Brave, prepared young people, with a bright future ahead of them, who have decided to turn their back on the dogmas of this society and create a true social enterprise, betting to change the world. At least, their world.

Madmen or heroes? For me, the latter. Heroes because they have proved that with Mas Por Ellos they are achieving their dreams.

I have no doubt that you will achieve all your goals, as long as you maintain the spirit. Keep fighting to make your dreams come true, and they will.

Thank you for this lesson on humility, perseverance and team work. A lesson that has just begun. And remember, ‘’dreams make your life, and you only live if you achieve your dreams’’.

I wish you all the best. "

We want to thank all the people that are supporting us so that Más Por Ellos turns out to be what we have in our heads! 

Karibuni (Welcome)

I’m not quite sure how to put my thoughts and impressions into words. When I landed in Nariobi (it feels like I’ve been here for a week), I was picked up at the airport by Alvaro and Eric and we took a taxi to the apartment. As we drove further away from the airport and closer to the city, I felt I didn’t have enough eyes to see everything I wanted to. It’s a sight that can’t be explained using words; it has to be seen. People appeared out of nowhere walking on the side of the highway, going to work, as they explained to me; they sold bed posts and sofas on the side of the road; a man pulling a wheelbarrow on one of the lanes, like another vehicle. Driving and vehicles in Kenya, that’s another story. 

After leaving my suitcase in the small apartment in the neighborhood of Umoya, we went for a walk looking for a place to buy an avocado. To my surprise, I found myself in a safe neighborhood near the capital, with unpaved streets, a lot of garbage, chickens and turkeys that got angry if you took pictures of them. The people on the streets are lovely, and with a huge smile on their face, say; ‘’Muzungu! How are you? ´´ 

In the afternoon we went to Kibera, the biggest slum in Africa. Here is where I lose my words. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m a naïve person, a virgin of Africa or because I have all my basic needs more than covered, but I was in shock. Looking at a distance and seeing a sea of orange metallic roofs, unpaved streets, hills, garbage, a kind of sewage system that runs down the sides of the street full of a liquid that I can only imagine what it carries, goats, chickens that eat all of the rubbish whilst walking and living next to all the people…is something unimaginable to me.

We wait to be attended at the school where Lisha Mtoto helps to pay school fees for kids. At the door, we see five kids playing with a wheelbarrow. A girl of about two years old walks barefoot around Kibera, and the other had a key in his mouth and licked it over and over again; all this in a country with 20% of the population suffering from AIDS. You could see several schools, businesses like hairdressers, fruit stands, phone recharge stands…etc and people that seem to be happy, all together in a scene that I wasn’t able to process. Before coming here, I wasn’t quite sure up to what point it was necessary to educate with what I understood as the normal academic European system to someone who has a totally different culture. 

Later on, I spoke to Eric and Alvaro about this and I came to the conclusion that building schools and trying to get children to receive an education, is not about imposing an academic system that comes from Europe, but to teach them to think and use the tools to decide. Eric would say ‘’in school you study Pythagoras’ theorem, but in Kenya no one has ever invented a theorem, so we only study those of others.’’ Our immediate and logic response was that in Spain we also have to study the theorems of others, but when you are older and you have received a secondary education and have gone to university, if you decide to do a thesis on geometry, you can do it, and maybe one day you can discover your own theorem. 

The problem in Kenya is that primary education is free (in public schools, as there are many other schools like the one in Kibera where it is necessary to pay the teachers, food…etc). However, secondary education is not free, ever, and many people can’t pay it or don’t even have a secondary school nearby to which they can go to. Not to mention university, where only privileged students with scholarships can attend. That’s why it seems (as far as I’m concerned) that people here accept that going to primary school is a ‘’must’’, but once its finished, secondary isn’t necessary, instead, starting to work and help at home is much more important. This is why it had to be a Chinese company that had to come, design and build the only highway in Kenya.

It’s a very strange culture, with intriguing contradictions. The atmosphere is indescribable; it’s relaxed. The people are calm, and are in no hurry. I think this is part of what enchants you and makes you feel so comfortable. For example, we are walking to catch a ‘’matatu’’ to go someplace, and on the way we stop to talk to Mr.Joel, a man who brings wood from Congo and makes hand-made beds. We greet him with a strong handshake in his workshop on the side of the road and he tells us how his business works, Alvaro asks him for prices, times, and other details in order to start thinking of how to furnish the future orphanage. After a while talking, we continue our way. This is how things work here.

I will continue to tell you my impressions of Kenya but, for now, I am more than happy to help Mas Por Ellos grow.

Bea Martínez Torres

The first volunteer for Mas Por Ellos. She is helping Alvaro build our delegation in Kenya. 

"Dreams will only be dreams until you put dedication and work to make them real" (Anonymous)

BACK IN KENYA

Who would have thought so? Three years later, I’m back in Kenya with the idea of making my dream come true. I’m flying over the Rift Valley, it’s 05.10am, 04.10am in Spain. I’m happy, excited, nervous! Everything is turning out perfectly, and even though I know hard times are ahead of me, for now it’s time to enjoy and learn from this great moment.

Undertaking something like this has been one of the best decisions of my life. I feel that all I’ve learnt, waited, achieved and everything I am, now becomes useful. Useful to create opportunities for others.

We often hear the typical saying ‘’life is short’’. However, I would say that life is short if you waste time. If you are busy doing something that you feel is yours, something in which you truly believe in, something in which you’ve dreamed of for so long, each day is a new opportunity to be better than yesterday, to improve with respect to yesterday, and to achieve things that will give you much more, as it was you who marked your goals and it was you who put your life to reach them.

This is why I’ve come to Kenya, to fulfill a dream. We are going to buy land, and we will come back at the end of summer with a part of the job done. We will investigate construction and maintenance costs and record it all up to the last penny.

The adventure begins!

Alvaro

‘’If you want to succeed, don’t stay still. Start going up, step by step, until you reach the sky.’’ Anonymous

WHAT IS MORE FOR THEM? (Más Por Ellos)

Our first idea was to connect sponsors with their sponsored children, to make donations transparent and a beneficial experience for both parts. Then we realized we were falling short; as much as we differentiated ourselves from other NGOs by having an internet platform used as a meeting point between donors and those benefiting from these gestures, we weren’t going to stop the problem that both NGOs and those who receive our help have.

We found ourselves with two problems;

On the one hand is the transparency problem. A lot of money is lost on the way, paying the NGO’s worker’s wages, for example. We propose a system that assures that 100cents of each euro given by our sponsors reaches entirely those who are sponsored.

On the other hand, donations create a financial dependency and don’t solve the problem from its source. Imagine a country in which the government gives the minimum needed to survive and doesn’t care whether the population receives an education that will allow them to be self-sufficient. In our opinion, NGOs take over this type of government function, solving the apparent problems, giving the minimum so that Africans have enough to live, but forgetting the root problem; the lack of education and tools that will make it possible for them to have their own growth and that are two essential pillars in the creation of a sustainable development.

However, we can’t forget that those who receive these donations are receiving the opportunity of having an education, a healthy nourishment and even somewhere to sleep. The key is to be able to take advantage of this improvement in their quality of life in order to break the vicious circles and create a sustainable development, transparent and respectful of the role and importance of the members of the community where the development is taking place. NGOs must provide the knowledge, and create the anxiety to start and improve new businesses that at the same time can help the growth and development of their country.

Our idea has resulted in a mixture between NGO and the concept of social enterprises, a recently emerged phenomenon, which we will explain carefully in another blog post. We want to create a different NGO, self-sustainable, and based on the certainty that each euro donated reaches the cause for which it was donated. We want to create a development atmosphere in Kibera, helping social entrepreneurship and involving ourselves in the formation and education of the members of the community. We want to give the opportunity of education, growth and curiosity to a generation that, in a few years, will lead the economy. We want to make them see that they don’t have to settle and that they can aspire to much more. We want you to be able to see the changes that your help makes on the lives of these people, because it wouldn’t be fair if only we experienced such pleasure. We propose an inclusive model that helps groups at risk of exclusion to grow and develop their community, and which at the same time reports a transparent and real experience to those who decide to do MORE FOR THEM. (Mas Por Ellos)