E104: Man of Peace

In this inspiring episode, we sit down with Amber Allan, the visionary founder of Man of Peace, a nonprofit dedicated to providing safe spaces and life-changing resources for children in Ecuador. From the devastating 2016 earthquake that reshaped lives to breaking generational cycles of hardship, Amber and her team are fostering hope, education, and healing in the community of Coaque, Ecuador. Join us as we explore the challenges, triumph and unwavering commitment that fuels Man of Peace. This episode is a testament to the power of perseverance, faith and the belief that every child deserves a chance to thrive.

Visit Man of Peace at https://ecthemanofpeace.org/

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Amber Allan
• 6:35 The Birth of Man of Peace: From Disaster to Hope
• 16:36 How Man of Peace Supports Vulnerable Children
• 27:21 Lessons from Running a Nonprofit
• 40:02 Lessons from Running a Nonprofit

Transcript

0:01

All right, let's get started. So today I'm excited to introduce someone whose passion and drive for bettering communities through tangible efforts is nothing short of absolutely inspiring. From a heartfelt desire to create safe spaces for children in Ecuador to finding a nonprofit that gives them tools to thrive, she's turned her passion into a real world impact and her energy is absolutely infectious. I've seen how she pours her heart into helping kids in Kwaki, ensuring that they have a place that they can count on and the opportunities they need to flourish. This leader is the unstoppable force behind Man of Peace, a beacon of hope for anyone looking to witness what genuine kindness and dedication can achieve. So without further ado, let's dive into an awesome brand, the mission and vision that has such a meaningful social impact with the visionary founder of Man of Peace, Amber Allen. Hey, Amber. Hi, what an intro, thank you. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Thank you for taking the time. So we were talking a little bit before. I'm in the northeast of the United States and you are in, are you in Coaque right now, Ecuador? in Coaque, Ecuador. I'm at home though because recording this from the nonprofit would be crazy. Sure, no, can imagine. And so it's cold and windy here in the Northeast of the United States, which you have some ties to, and we'll talk about that in a little bit. But what's it like over there? What's the temperature? It is probably about 85 right now, but it's super, it feels super hot. So right now we're in rainy season, which means it runs, it rains all night long. And then during the day, it's just like this sun that evaporates all the water and it's really, really hot. That's but that sounds amazing. I'm jealous. I'm very, jealous. Well, enjoy. Enjoy. I'll live vicariously through the Ecuadorian weather right now because it is chilly. Well, thank you. So thank you for taking the time. you and I have mutual friends in our our friends at Players Fitness and Performance. Shout out to Daniela and Andrew and the team at PFP. And they introduced me to you just to network and learn more. And when I learned more about Man of Peace, was just, I was so inspired and so motivated and honestly so touched because, you you always hear in the news like the, it bleeds, it leads style of, style of narrative. And to see all of the great work that you're doing, it really, it meant a lot to me. And I know it means a lot to those that you're doing the work for. And I was interested in learning that like you, you have Northeast highs, right? So you have quite a story. So I'd love for you to talk a little bit about, first, let's talk about Amber and kind of your background and your story and how your journey brought you in front of the idea of Man of Peace and then how Man of Peace kind of got started. Yeah, so I'm from Westchester, Pennsylvania. Our claim to fame is skateboarding. And so I grew up, I didn't realize, but as I was actually preparing for this and thinking through it, I grew up volunteering. Like my parents are super, they're just helpers. And so like every Saturday we would deliver groceries. And then we would come to know people that we delivered groceries from who would then end up at our Christmas dinners. And so my mom is just super kind and has always opened our house. And so I actually was studying fashion. So I was way different as a younger person than I am now, way cooler. And so I went to school in New York City. I wanted to study fashion. That's what I wanted to do. And as many of us do, I kind of had a little bit of a mental breakdown in college, right? Anywhere between 17 and 25, you're bound for something. And so my story has a lot to do with faith. And so the only thing, I went to therapy, I went to all sorts of things and looking for help in that time. the only thing that helped me was coming to know the Lord and the Bible. And so I started reading my Bible and I was like, Okay. And so I was in such a world that was so I love the fashion industry still. I mean, I love I love picking up magazines and all of those things. But for me at that time, it was it felt empty for what I was looking for as a young as a young 20 year old, I was looking for purpose. I was looking at what my life was going to look like. And I realized that that as I came to know my as I came into my faith, I was like, all of these internships, they're just not filling me. Right. so what I did is, is I grew up in the church, but I didn't want anything to do with it. And so I, at that time, once I started reading my Bible, I'm like, well, everybody goes on a mission trip. Like, why don't I do one of these? so I went on a mission trip during college and that's when I was like, God, I'm all in, like, what do want me to do? And so, I was studying marketing at Temple University, which I thought I would apply to the fashion industry. and I know. apply it to the nonprofit sector. And so basically, I, after college, this opportunity came up. I had interned all of college in New York City in different places that involved fashion, but this opportunity came up after college to teach English in Ecuador. And I was like, you know what, that sounds far more fulfilling than anything I've been doing. And so I moved down to Ecuador and surprised to me and all of my family, I never moved back. Wow. No kidding. That is quite a journey. Wow. That's, that's quite a journey. So then, you know, you, so you're in Ecuador and you're teaching English to those in Ecuador. And then that manifests into something bigger and even greater, a man of peace. tell me, so we're, so I, a fellow marketer. So I didn't realize he had a marketing background. we're, uh, uh, we just became best friends. Well, well, We'll do karate in the garage later, but until then talk to me a little bit about like man of peace. Just let's start with, with man of peace. Talk to me a little bit about the mission and the vision behind the brand. And then I'd love to learn a little bit more like drilling down to like where the name come from, right? What was the inspiration, inspiration behind the name and things like that. Yeah, so to connect the dots real quick. So I was working at a Christian Academy here, amazing place, but very much in like a privilege section of Ecuador, right? And so was like, cool, cool. This is lovely. But three months after I moved to Ecuador, so April, 2016, there was a massive earthquake on the coast of Ecuador. So the capital of Ecuador is in the mountains. It's much colder there. And then you've got the coastal region, which happens to be far more overlooked, far more high poverty. You're going to have, I mean, to give you the whole background, right? So Colombia and Peru are the biggest drug producers in the world, which makes Ecuador an awesome spot for moving said drug in any direction and out. And so that's not gonna go through the mountains because that's not convenient, but that's gonna go along the coastlines. So there was this massive earthquake, which really took the whole country's, the whole world's attention and put it on the coast of Ecuador. And so where I was working, I'll give you that story of the name of Manapis. So where I was working, the leader at the school that I was working at, the director, they were like... We've raised up a bunch of Christians and there was this massive earthquake, 7.8 on the Richter scale, tons of people were killed in the earthquake. so they were like, let's get on the ground, let's go. And being that we're in a culture that for a long time has a history of corruption in the government. So immediately after the earthquake, people are sending money, people are sending water, they're sending all these supplies, but we're hearing stories about how those supplies aren't actually getting to the victims or the money isn't getting there. And so this director of the school I was working at was like, you know what, we're going to take a group of four other male leaders from the school. Ecuador is a very dangerous environment, right? It wasn't that they were being sexist, but they were like, hey, let's go into the danger zone and see what we can do. So they hop in the car a week after the original damage and they start kind of driving. community to community and they're like, how can our school get involved? Right? And so they, they, as they're praying, as they're preparing for the trip, they, they have this verse in Luke 10 six on their, on their minds. They kind of went with that. They're like, we feel like this is what God has for us. And so Luke 10 six is when Jesus sends out his disciples. Basically he's like, go spread the word, tell people what's going on. And he says, go and look for the man of peace. And when you find the man of peace, stay a while eating and drinking. And so they start going to community to community, Samaritan's Purse there is there, you've got Planet International is in different places. So they're like, these people have helped. But when you get to the coast between major cities, you start seeing these kind of like slum villages for lack of a better term, just these tiny towns on the side of the road. And so they're going city to city and they're driving down the road and they see a town to the right. meanwhile, they're going from one city to the next. And they're like, that's weird. There's no town on the map. Like what is that? They're like, let's pull in there. Let's see what that is. And so they pull into the community. during this time, and I apologize for being so honest, but after the earthquake, it had left so much damage that everyone, no matter where they were, was afraid to go back into their homes if it hadn't already fallen, right? Majority of the houses had fallen and they had fallen and killed different family members. So we have a student in our program right now. whose brother got locked in the room and the house fell on him while the rest of them escaped, right? So this community is sitting there and they're saying, we just lost children, we just lost parents, we don't wanna go back into our home. So everyone is literally living in the street together in these makeshift tents. So they drive into this town and all they see are tents. The stench is real because... these people are fending for themselves. And so when they find a body or they find something, they have to dispose of it themselves because no one has come. So they pull up, they step out of the car and this man comes up to them and he says, are you lost? And they say, no, we're here to help. And he says, we're so glad you came. No one has come. And so this man to this day, his name is Enrique and we call him the man of peace. So because he first greeted them, they said, this feels like the guy that we were looking for. He invites them in, he makes them the best plate that they've ever had. Meanwhile, the entire community has no light, they're cooking on gas, they're not living in their homes, but yet he provides this meal and he says, let's talk about how you guys can help. And so in honor of that man and the way that he opened his doors in the time that they had nothing is how we began that first step. And that's, and we've named the nonprofit in honor of him. And to this day, he cooks lunch for all of our kids every day, because he's really good cook. So just to kind of close that circle there. So that school that we worked at started with a relief effort. And then that relief effort was over, which is when Anna and I had been volunteers on the project. And Anna is the co-founder of Man of Peace, my best friend. And we... After that relief project, we were like, there's something more here. And so I'll tell you more about that, but that's how we continued with the project and ended up starting it up. Wow. I did not know that story coming in. That is incredibly sobering to recognize how, how privileged we are here, how I am compared to other areas in the world and, and things that are happening. what an amazing story to the, the birth of a brand. That's, that's incredible. now, and what year, what year was this that, that you kind of scene? So 2016, so you're eight years in, not about nine years in now. And I have to imagine, you know, this idea, turning an idea into reality is no easy feat, right? It's, you know, there's not a lot of money probably to be, you're a nonprofit, right? It's tough. Our press association's a nonprofit, you know, it's like we live in the land of. of starvation sometimes when it, when it relates to that. So we have to do big things with not enough. And I'm sure, I would suspect the first, you know, the first year was perhaps maybe feeling like you're wading into a shadow where you don't know if there's a light on the other side. Right. So talk to me a little bit about, know, so you have this idea and now you're bringing it to reality. Talk, talk to me a little bit about that first year. the struggle, the successes and struggles and maybe the learnings that you, that you were able to gain from just the whole process, mentoring you and teaching you. Talk to me a little bit about that. Yeah, so we actually didn't launch the nonprofit until 2019. So Anna and I were, we were younger and we would just hop on the bus on the weekend and just basically spend time in this community that we had fallen in love with, right? And what we started to do in that, at the beginning of 2019 was, We started to, we've realized that with the community, we wanted to build something. And so we started seeking a lot of advice, right? And I think when it comes to what we learned and you said, you know how you were mentored more by the process, but it was for me, it was for us starting, were the people who mentored us and the people who said certain things to us along the way that helped us realize, oh, this isn't just a project, this is going to be a thing. Like this is going to be a nonprofit. This isn't just we hop on the bus every two weeks and we get these women together and we work with them and we bring a friend that's a psychologist and we work with the kids. This is actually going to be our lives and this is going to be something. And so someone actually said to us once we were visiting a nonprofit because we were kind of starting to try and give shape to what we were doing. And he said, you can do a lot of good things for God, or you can do the thing that God's asking you to do. And I think for us, that was the sobering moment where we were like, we're doing some nice stuff, but what he's asking us to do is go all in and jump and build something from the ground up. And we're too scared. Right? So it was those people along the way that would say things and you'd see it kind of standing on the backs of those before you, right? Seeing what they did and being like, okay, this is what I'm being called to do too. Wow. So it seems like it was, so it seems like there were, there were lessons learned throughout the way that you could apply once you decided I'm going to go all in or we're going to go all in and, create this nonprofit. And so talk to me a little bit specifically about what man of peace does for the children within the community. Like what is the day to day look like for for you? What what what what does man of peace do specifically? Yeah. And so I think kind of joining those two questions, right, of how we got to where we are. And, and so, you know, everyone's telling you, you got to create a mission and vision, you got to create a mission and vision. And we're like, we don't even know what we're doing. How can we have a mission and vision? You know, like when we were just jumping on the bus every two weeks, or we're, you know, we just left our jobs. We're like, I don't know, we just want to help. And so our, you know, we had a mission and vision on paper and we were like, this is what we're going to keep. But I, I had pretty clearly and I remember saying to Anna, let's stick with this one, because we were changing it all the time. And we're like, let's stick with this one. And I think that God's going to show us along the way what that's going to mold into. And so in that first year that we had left our jobs, I went and fundraised. Annie was teaching in the streets. And then we came together and we rented a space and we started doing these after school programs. And what we started to learn or see what was happening in the community is that these kids would come to our door and all of them would have the same story. And they would say, I'm a gifted child. In Spanish, it's, it's nino regalado. And so they'd say, I'm a gifted child. And in English, that sounds great, right? And what that meant as they would explain it to us is they would say, well, I, my parents had me and then they broke up and my dad, went off with one woman and my mom got in a relationship with another man and they went to start new families and I couldn't go. So they left me with my grandma or they left me in some cases with a neighbor or an ex-boyfriend. And so they would call themselves gifted children because literally their parents gifted them to someone else and basically said, I can't take you with me. We started to see the story repeated and That was when we were like, we're not here for all the kids of Kwaki. And I mean, one day I would love to be, but getting started, we were like, those are the ones. And so to this day, we have students in our program that are, you know, maybe they come from violent homes, but mom and dad are both still there. We have students that maybe we have a lot of single mom households. We have a single dad household. We have new parents that have mental disabilities. But any time we hear of a student or a child in the community that has been gifted, we're always like, put them in. Right, because that was the first thing that really moved our hearts. And so those are all going to be all the children that we work with are children that have undergone some sort of trauma. Right? And so the way in which you work with a child with trauma is very different than the way that you would work with maybe a privileged child or a child that hasn't undergone such trauma. And so what we do today is we run from nine to five. We have programs in the morning because some of our students, for example, we've had cases where a student doesn't have a birth certificate, so they can't be in the school system yet. So we'll have programs for them in the morning while we're going and we're representing them at the government until they can get into school. or different cases of just students that are in the morning. Maybe we have some kids that have dropped out, but we're helping them continue their studies until the next year when they could go back in. And so that happens while school is running in the community. There's a local public school that runs until about 12 o'clock. And then at 12 o'clock, all those kids get out of school and the kids that are in our program come running down the hill. They join us for lunch and then our afternoon program start. And so that's where... Our mission is to provide a safe space for vulnerable children, and that's based on working with a child in trauma. So in order for a child's brain to be able to overcome said trauma, they need to feel safe and they need to bond to a safe adult. And so everything we do is create a safe space. And then from there, we provide programs that then go deeper and can help them when it comes to their reading and writing. We have music, we have art, have gym, we have therapy. We have obviously discipleship. have we have a time of worship because we're believers. so everything really comes back to providing that safe space for those kids that maybe didn't have one so that they can begin to heal. Wow. And so not only are you teaching and mentoring and caring for these children every day, you're also representing them to the Ecuadorian government to get them as a documented citizen so they can go to public school. Wow. That's, wow, that's incredible. Do you get support from the? I hope you don't mind me asking. do you so as a non-profit, again, it's, you know, this all of these efforts require money, right? I mean, it's it's money rules, the money rules these areas. And does the Ecuadorian government provide support to programs like yours? not programs like ours. So there is a way where you would do a program, but that's a program that falls under what they, their structure, right? So yeah, I mean, and as you said, I mean, we do do a lot of representation, right? When it comes to maybe getting an ID, maybe it comes to a child that wasn't in school, we do a lot of representation when it comes to our kids' rights. If they're in a situation of violence, we have to report that. And also, and so we do a lot of working with the local government. And so though they don't support us necessarily, we have this awesome relationship with like the Ministry of Education, Child Production Services, the police. It is, it literally takes a village to raise a child. No kidding. And I, so I have to imagine, I can't imagine when you said, you know, at 12 o'clock, when the kids get out of school and they come running down the hill, I like, can, I can envision it. And it's like, that has to be like the most fulfilling thing to see, right? There may be lots of stress along with it, right? Because you're, you're, you're doing such big things, perhaps with not enough, but that has to be so fulfilling to see. Can you talk to me a little bit about, You know, there's not a nonprofit, I think. Well, I guess I should say there are many nonprofits on the planet that, you know, if you were to ask them, you know, what kind of obstacles or struggles have you faced along your journey of running a nonprofit? You know, it's the answer will usually be how much time do you have? Right. Can you talk to me a little bit about as you're trying to do such big things, perhaps with never having enough? Can you talk to me a little bit about the challenges and struggles that you've seen as a founder and operator of a nonprofit that you've maybe learned from. Yeah, I mean, I think that I think, you know, you've kind of got to lean into what's happening, right? And so, you know, one of our greatest challenges at the beginning was the pandemic, right? We had just gotten fully funded. We had just gotten off. We're like, all right, we're ready to go. We're ready to do this. And literally the government shuts down. And during that time, I mean, We, the pandemic for us was, it set the base of everything we do, right? And so what did we do? We used that time to write our child protection document, right? Which is like gold to us. We put all of our documents in place. created a... a relationship with the police during that time that we never would have had. I mean, they didn't, you know, they didn't know what we were doing there. But all of a sudden we needed to know them. And during that time, our students actually went to the police station and signed on to an iPad to have classes with us. And I say that because we had no idea what to do during the pandemic, right? Like we had this idea and we were going to have the students come to this space that we were renting and we were going to be with them. And that happened. And so the way that we responded was, okay, we're going to go one by one. We're going to sign on to the iPad. Then we had someone else from the community bring food. And so what happened during that time was that we created this major bond with police. We're two women that work in a city that is very, very sexist, that is very dangerous. And now we've got this great bond with local authorities and people look at us and they think of that. right? Then we started our programs in one on one classes. Otherwise, I mean, our idea was to have a classroom of 30 kids, and we're going to save all the children, we're going to help all the children, but that's not how so what happened is it taught us, actually, in order to make an impact, you've got to have that bond. You've got to go one to one. so something that happened that was such a challenge and that was so confusing when you're like, wait, I'm ready to go, is something that shaped what we do now. And so now we have small class sizes. So our biggest class is 11 kids, which is not normal. Majority of our classes are about six to eight students to a teacher, which working with children in trauma is something that's really important is that they need that one-on-one care. It's just looking at these challenges when they come instead of being like, this is something that came to derail me. It actually might be something that came to shape what you're doing for the better. It seems like this, it's, it's interesting that you share that. Cause it brings me to think about like, you know, recognizing that there may be a light on the other side of a shadow, even if you can't see it. Right. And that it's funny enough that that sentiment has come up a few times in this past week and just the work I do for, for some clients. So it sounds like to me that, you know, an important, an important lesson learned for any aspiring nonprofit founder is to find the good in any situation, even in sometimes the worst, right? So you're about five years in now-ish, right? You said 2019? Yeah, so about five years in. Talk to me about, let's close our eyes and think about the future of Man of Peace. Where do you see Man of Peace in the next few years? Yeah. I mean, something for us, so one of our core values is that is commitment. And so we started in, you know, we started in Kwaki after a natural disaster, right? And so what is common in a natural disaster, you've got a lot of organizations who their purpose is to provide supplies for a short amount of time. which is awesome, which is super necessary, and we need those organizations. But when we came in, and as we worked with the community and we talked with the community, something that was very clear to us was we need to be committed for the long haul. So this isn't a one-year program, two-year program, but... were providing something different than what the community was used to when it came to disaster relief, right? And so it was very hard to break that mentality for a lot of our kids who had literally grown up after the earthquake or after different fires that happened in the community. There's so many things that happen on the coastal region of Ecuador that they're used to organizations coming in, giving supplies and leaving. And so it took us quite a while to break that mold of being like, No, no, you don't have to ask for an apple in this moment. You'll have one every day, right? Like we're here and you can come back and it's not get as much as you can while. And so I say that because when we talk about our future, it's very committed to the community. And so in order to see this, you know, our students. are living the same situations that their parents lived, right? And so we have a student, it was a really tough case and his mom is not present at all, neither is his dad, he's living with people that aren't even his family. But that's not because his mom is bad. It's because she had a really rough story. And we don't even know the story of her parents. And so in order for our students to succeed and to have a different future, they need an example that's going to be long term. And they're going to need someone that's working with them time and time and time again. I mean, we work in a community that is that is riddled with gang violence and drug use. And so for these kids having such trauma, I'm going to want to use drugs. I'm going to want to drink when something goes wrong. And so they need someone that's like, it's OK that you fell. Let's not do that again. What can we do to work through that? And so I tell you all of that because we are so committed to Quackus. So we don't really have a dream of opening up different nonprofits or things like that. someone came along and was like, wanna help in this part. We're like, have at it, do it, we'll help you out. But that's not our dream. And so we, right now, we rent out three apartments. And so we've turned those into classroom spaces. We've got a soccer field on the other side. So we've got six classrooms. We've got a kitchen. We've got three bathrooms. We've a patio and a soccer field. And so that is enough for what we do. But our dream in the future is to own property. to be able to have a space that's bigger to provide for these students every day, but also to have different houses, of like cabins, because something that we've seen over the years is that we never would want to replace their families. We're never looking to be an orphanage, but there are situations and there are times when mom gets kicked out of the house and has nowhere to go. Or there's a situation where the government needs to take a child from the home and it's one of our children. And we'd love to be the ones to provide this space. So in the future, we're trying to build out not just our programs and make them more well-rounded and able to provide for more kids. We'd love to have carpentry area and all of those big dreams, but also providing spaces for the emergencies that we see time and time again. And we can't provide for the community in that way. and being able to literally provide for them a home or a place to go. Wow. Yeah. It seems to be, you know, it's, it's what a task to try to, to even break like a generational cycle. Right. It's like grandparents, know, uh, parents are byproducts of the grandparents, kids are byproducts of their parents. And, know, they're familiar with what they know and what they know may not be the best, the best forum and to break that, that generational cycle. That's, that's a tall order. Um, it has to be one where. you have to be very balanced. seem very balanced to me. I've met you once before. You are an absolute joy to even be around it and to speak to. you know, hearing all of the amazing things you do, you know, it's, it's, taking me through a bit of a roller coaster of emotions on, know, how tough, you know, those in Kwaki have it and how grateful I am to hear that there are people like you that can help. ease those pains. How do you keep yourself so centered to be able to do what you do every day? mean, it has to be so incredibly fulfilling, but it has to be so, like there has to be much heartache. You talk about there may be a child in your program that needs government intervention to be removed from their home due to whatever circumstance by the government. mean, that's... I'm a dad of two kids and that just squeezes my heart. mean, how do you stay centered through all of this? I have a great therapist. So I think that passion is going to get you into it. And then I think balance is going to be what keeps you going. So the first few years, mean, you're excited, you're on it. You're like, I'm going to work until 10 o'clock every night. I'm going to be up at 5 a.m. every day. We're going to do whatever is possible. for these students. And then you quickly burn out, right? And so I think that you have a good point there. think balance is gonna be everything. And I think that, I think passion is what gets you going and balance is what keeps you in the game. And you're... going and balance is what keeps you in the game. That is quote, I'm getting t-shirts made. That is quotable. And we I mean, there have been many it's the process is your best mentor. I mean, you said that there have been times where I mean, there was one situation where just one thing after another after another after another happened. And it was specifically a week where we saw a lot of like, physical we like, we we healed a lot of wounds. We had students coming to our door like, did you just hear what happened? And there was one morning and I was caring for these puppies that were next to our house. They were there. I was feeding them rice and chicken. And the next morning the puppy came and he had gotten stuck in something. And so he was all cut up. And I... lost it. Like I just lost it in a puddle on the ground and and Anna who is the co-founder and my best friend was like we're not okay. Like this isn't the puppy. This is that's that's a lot but this has been so much and we've been pretending we can handle it but we need a minute and and we're not okay. Like you're showing what we're feeling and and so I think it is taking so many situations like that where something happens and I'm so upset or something happens and someone else is so upset and you're like, wait, we're not okay. And we're not going at a pace that is sustainable. And so I think that learning your limitations and working like a community like this and recognizing and working anywhere in the world, and recognizing this doesn't depend on me. At the end of the day, we put a choice in front of someone and I'm going to do everything to give you an option, but you choose. In the same way that I got to choose between a career in fashion and a career in the nonprofit history, neither one of those options was better or worse. It was a choice that I got to make, but it depended on me. And so I think in order to carry the burden of being like, we can do everything and these kids could repeat the same cycle. I could very well be attending a funeral of one of my students in the same way I'm attending a funeral of one of the students, one of the kids in the community that was killed in a gang fight. That could very well be one of my students and you have to let that go and be like, he gets to choose. she gets to choose. And so I can do everything to give you that opportunity, but at the end of the day, you are free. And though I will cry about that in therapy, I also need to rest in that and be like, I can't make you in the same way that no one made me. What an amazing soul you are. It's such a pleasure to know you. You do such great things. And I think that's, I think I hear a lot of wisdom in how you approach everything. And I think perhaps my, my last question was going to be like, what's the advice you would give to an aspiring nonprofit founder? And I think maybe perhaps you answered that question. I'll still, I'll still pose it. but it sounds like allowing the process to be your mentor. recognizing, love, you know, it starts with passion, you passion gets you going, balance keeps you there. What else would you tell someone who has as kind of a heart as you that wants to make a big difference in the world and wants to start a nonprofit? What is one piece of advice that you would give them that could help get them a little further ahead than they are now? First off, like, get a good therapist, like grab your Bible because I can't do it without the Lord. But, count the cost. and recount the cost. And so there is a verse in the Bible that says, I'm going to paraphrase it terribly, but it basically says, before you build a house, you count the cost. You're like, OK, I'm going to need this much material. can't start until three years from now until I've saved this much money. You count the cost. And I think in everything that we do in life, you need to count the cost. And there are a lot of things that I gave up. in doing what I do and there are a lot of things that I continue to give up and there are times when I come to you and now because I've learned so much about balance I have to say I can't pay that but I can pay this and so I think it's very common that we're like that's so exciting I want to jump all in but you can't if you don't recognize how much it's going to cost you. Sure, sure. Well, and that brings me to, I want to make sure that we share this story and just megaphone your message as far and wide as we can. Talk to me a little bit about those that want to help. What are some of the best ways for those around the world? So I'm in the Northeast. For those in Maryland, Delaware, and DC, what are some ways that those that want to help can get involved? Things like donating, spreading the word, virtual volunteer opportunities perhaps. How can we help Man of Peace? Yeah, I think I mean, for us right now, like it is just, it's it has been such a gift to be more known. It is been it is so cool that people the story now speaks for itself. Right. And so I am along with being the co founder, I'm the development director, and it's no longer. well, I know, Amber, it's Have you heard of Man of Peace? Love that. Like people talking about what we're doing, people following along. I'm like, follow us on Instagram. We could post more. We're a nonprofit. And just following along, reading our newsletters and praying for and caring for our kids individually is so cool to me because now I'm seeing this space where I'm being taken out of the middle and people are connecting to the nonprofit. But in a more tangible way. I'm like, donations are huge. We are a nonprofit. Signing up for a monthly donation of $5, of $10, is so cool to us because you're walking along with us or making that one-time donation is huge. And then when it comes to more than that right now, because of the turmoil in Ecuador, we're not really doing team trips or anything like that. If you look up backward around the news, you'll see we had a rough year. And so we haven't really been bringing people in so much just right now because of that safety. So we've been asking for more donations. Or if anyone was like, hey, I'd love to teach English online, cool, email me. But right now, more than anything, just being able to have the funds to be able to be investing in the community. So our staff is not just me and Anna anymore. We now have only people hired from the community or very close surrounding the community. So providing those jobs for people who can provide that safe space for our students and do the work every day as people that very much know the culture that they've been through. So, yeah. Got it. Well, everyone get online now. So I'm going to throw out there everywhere that they can follow you, find you, donate, learn more about your story. I'm on your site now. These children are absolutely beautiful little human beings on here. It's incredible to see what you've done. So ecthemannofpeace.org slash donate is where you can go to donate or even just go to ecthemannofpeace.org. Learn more about their story. Follow them on Instagram at Man of Peace, Ecuador. Go to Facebook. Follow them at Man of Peace and follow their story. It's tough for any nonprofit to be on social media every day. you're up there, posting, you're putting real life and this is not stock. photography here. This is a look inside the the window of the day to day of man of peace and help spread the word share it out. You know, sign up for a monthly donation. It's it's every every little bit counts. There's my there's my piece on it. I think you do such amazing work. I'm always in awe of of those like you that that are doing work that really truly matters and brings good to the world. from a bearded guy from the Northeast, thank you for what you do. It's absolutely incredible and it's absolutely inspiring the work you do and the sacrifices that you make to bring a little bit more good to the world than before. So as we're coming to an end, is there anything else that you want folks to know about Man of Peace? If so, Now's your time. You have, you have the floor all the time in the world. What, what else do you want folks to know about manapiece or you or how they can help? This has been such a lovely conversation. think if there's any way to close, I'm like, I would never want anyone to think that this community is any different than their own. so humans are humans no matter where they are. We all carry different traumas. all carry different, we move towards different ways of self harm no matter where And so, Kwa'ake is not a community that is different. It's just a community that, because of where they are, has taken far more hits. But if I was a child born into Kwa'ake, would make the same choices, and I would be in the same situation. by the grace of God, I was a child born in Pennsylvania, and I got all these opportunities, and I grew up in a loving home, and so now I can help. these kids who maybe didn't have that same thing. So I think just to finish it off, I'm like, they're no different. They just had less resources. And so wherever you are, I think it's the same thing. If you're in the Northeast and you want to help, there's people that you can use your energy and your resources to help. But it doesn't have to be as desperate or different or as dramatic as moving to another country. Sure, no absolutely recognizing that. Again, for me, is this has been so sobering. I've I felt like I knew the full story and I only scratched the surface. Thank you so much for sharing everything and talking to me about man of peace and how it came to be in the story. And thank you for all the amazing things that you do every single day for these these kids in in Kwaki. It's absolutely incredible. Absolutely incredible. I'm excited to find ways to help a little bit as much as we all can and I'm excited to see how Man of Peace continues to grow. Thank you. It's been fun and a total honor to talk to you. thank you. Was it, so I told you when we would hop on, I'm like, it won't be as nerve wracking as you may think it would be. Did I, was I right in that? Was this easy? Yeah. Yeah, it was easy. was fun. Good, good. I'm glad, I'm glad. I will send you my MPS survey. Give me nines and tens. Well, thank you so much. Yeah, no, no, I do too. I love hearing about amazing stories and you have such an amazing one. So thank you so much for taking the time. And with that, that is the end of this episode. Thank you everyone for listening in. Remember, go to ecthemanofpeace.org. Follow on Instagram at Man of Peace, Ecuador. Facebook at man of peace and we'll have all of this information also in the show notes. So until next time see ya