Ambassador Heather Hodges Visits Guayaquil

September 16, 2008

Ambassador Heather Hodges during the reception welcoming her to Guayaquil

The new American Ambassador to Ecuador, Heather Hodges, recently visited Guayaquil for the first time and paid courtesy calls on several local officials.  Deputy Chief of Mission Andrew Chritton, who also recently arrived in Ecuador, accompanied Ambassador Hodges during her visit.

Her tour of Ecuador’s commercial cap included visits to a few tourist sites, such as Malecon 2000.  Ambassador Hodges also visited Yeyo Uraga baseball stadium to officially donate lights, nets and bases worth $3000.  While there, she also threw out the first pitch for a game that was part of an international youth tournament held in Guayaquil.

At the end of the day, Ambassador Hodges attended a welcome reception hosted by Consul General Douglas Griffiths.  During the event, she met a diverse group of Consulate friends and contacts from Ecuador’s Coast and Sourthern Sierra  and learned about the customs and culture of both regions.

Consul General Delivers Donations to Afro-Ecuadorian Women’s Association

August 13, 2008

Consul General (c) during his visit to the Mujeres de Lucha

Consul General Douglas Griffiths visited the facilities of the Afro-Ecuadorian association, Mujeres de Lucha, located in one of Guayaquil’s poorest neighborhoods, to deliver a donation of $3,860 collected at the Consulate’s annual July 4th reception.  Instead of offering flowers, guests made financial contributions to the work of the Mujeres de Lucha.  The total donated reflects the importance of what these courageous women are doing to improve the conditions of their neighborhood, not only by creating jobs, but also by training the members of the association.
Mr. Griffiths toured all of the association’s various microenterprises and announced that he was very pleased to be able to visit a project that had been supported by the U.S. government for more than 18 months.  The donations that he delivered will support several of these activities, most notably those that promote child development.  The Mujeres de Lucha have a daycare center in which they look after 33 children and a community kitchen that feeds 138 local boys and girls.  They also run other small businesses like a community grocery store, a hair salon and a vegetable store.
The next afternoon, the president of Girls Scouts Overseas also visited the cooperative to bring donations of clothing and toys for the association’s daycare center.