FundeCruz

The FundeCruz Foundation is an Ecuadorian and British charity [cite news | date=2007-12-18 | url=http://www.readingfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/Charities/0,,10306~1193652,00.html | title=Ulises' FundeCruz foundation | publisher=readingfc.co.uk | accessdate=2008-01-02] , founded on 17 June 2002 by Ulises de la Cruz in order to raise money to fund a number of projects serving the local community of Piquiucho, a village in the Valle del Chota. The charity was registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales on 25 October 2007. De la Cruz, who is a UNICEF ambassador, donates about 10% of his salary from Reading FC.

History

The Afro-Ecuadorian village of Piquiucho in northern Ecuador's Valle del Chota is a three-hour drive from Quito, the nation's capital. It is in one of Ecuador’s poorest regions [cite news | date=2007-01-27 | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6302665.stm | title=Ecuadorean footballer rebuilds village | publisher=BBC News | accessdate=2007-02-16] . The village is not on official maps, and services to its inhabitants have been non-existent. The plight of its people only became known following the selection of seven of the villages' sons to represent Ecuador's eleven member team in the World Cup in 2002 and 2006 [cite news | url=http://www.afropresencia.com/id14.html | title=Ulises de la Cruz: remembering Piquiucho | publisher=afropresencia.com | accessdate=2008-02-04] .

Activities

FundeCruz focuses on children's nutrition, health, education and sports development. It provides daily meals for more than 100 primary school children, running water for a whole village, has founded a hospital, a school and the construction of a community sports centre. The foundation has also funded a water treatment plant, a health centre and a sports ground [cite news | date=2007-12-20 | url=http://www.readingfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10306~1193203,00.html | title=Help Ulises with his charity work | publisher=readingfc.co.uk | accessdate=2008-01-02] .

Fundecruz has been named as an official charity of the February 2008 Ruta del Sol [cite news | url=http://ruta.theadventurists.com/index.php?page=charities | title=Official charity for the Ruta | publisher=ruta.theadventurists.com | accessdate=2008-01-02] .

References

External links

*UK charity|1121368|Friends of Funde Cruz Details of achievements:
* [http://search.bbc.co.uk/cgi-bin/search/results.pl?tab=av&q=ulises%20de%20la%20cruz&recipe=all&scope=all&edition=d BBC video]
* [http://ruta.theadventurists.com/index.php?mode=gallery&sub=view_category&id=688 Fundecruz team gallery] for Ruta del Sol