In Fundación NUR we build experiences, memories and learning that will remain for life in the hearts and minds of our beneficiaries, both children and adults.
NÚR is a word of oriental origin that means “illumination,” and refers to the inner light that every person has and that must shine and stay lit to illuminate and transform their lives and the lives of others. It is the light that must shine in the face of pain, indifference, and injustice.
It is the sparkle between darkness and faith and hope for a better world. How can we ensure that our inner light is always on? We can do this through education and knowledge. That’s why our purpose is to foster the improvement of people’s living conditions through the implementation of educational training activities in conjunction with social aid activities. The vision is to contribute to the improvement of our society by helping people improve their lives, their environment, and their community.
A differential aspect of Fundación NUR is that each family or person who receives emergency help to cover their basic needs, enters a formative process of personal growth and the development of their resilience so that they can empower their own lives.
This formative process is developed through different educational programs for children and adolescents, pregnant and nursing mothers, families, and adults in general. The programs include emotional education, health promotion, values education and nutritional support.
After several years based in Cuenca, and in the belief that it is necessary to adapt to the changing society and its needs, we thought it was time to focus on serving the rural population with its enormous shortages. And, our efforts have already begun to focus on that goal. We are currently supporting 39 families with food and education, 17 in the city of Cuenca, and 22 in the rural town of El Salado.
El Salado (Santa Ana) is the first small community where we started this transition process, bringing our training programs and social assistance. It is an area dealing with the effects of teenage pregnancy, lack of knowledge on sexual and reproductive health issues, male violence and alcoholism, and where family patterns are repeated that lead to risky situations for its inhabitants.
Fundación NÚR is a non-profit organization legally constituted by Resolution MIES-CZ-6-DDC2019-0008-R of the Ministry of Economic and Social Inclusion of the Republic of Ecuador.
It was founded in 2019 by Patricia Garcés and Jorge Araujo, who are currently president and secretary of the foundation, respectively.