Parish ministry helping to improve life in Ecuadorian village

Ecuador Quilt, Inc., founded in the year 2000 by Our Lady of Consolation of Wayne parishioners and incorporated in 2006, seeks, per its website, to provide “adequate health care, nutrition, and relevant training and education that will lift residents out of poverty to create a path to a self-sustaining future.”

Father Desmond Dalton is the priest who serves the poverty-stricken fishing village in San Pablo, Ecuador. Twenty-three years ago, his sister’s (a Wayne resident) son began discussing its prevalent severe plight and famine with the son of an Our Lady of Consolation parishioner. A first trip to the area was planned, and eventually, parents and families made the trek, as did the pastor, Father Michael Lombardo.

“Basically, that's when it became an outreach program for Our Lady of Consolation,” said Tom Deregibus, Ecuador Quilt Inc. president. “It was a poor, distressed village of native Ecuadorians.”

His wife, MaryAnne Deregibus, recording secretary of Ecuador Quilt, Inc., said any contribution to the tax­exempt organization is going to be put to beneficial use. “Ecuador Quilt takes nothing from the donations. It's 100 percent used for the betterment of the village itself. And we really rely on Father Desmond to guide us.”

Father Dalton, who is from Cork County in Ireland, has dedicated his life to the poor. “He is the major reason why we were able to accomplish as much as we have,” Tom said.

In the past 23 years, much has been done to benefit the area. In fact, In San Pablo alone, it has progressed to the point where everything is almost established. The shortlist of projects funded thus far is the construction of six daycare centers, co-funded construction of a new medical center to provide medical care for the village, transport of needed medicines and equipment as well as support for the staff, and construction of three trade schools — a mechanical school with more than 90 students enrolled, a computer science school, and a tourism school. Twenty-four students graduated in 2020.

Progress has been made as well in the areas of Santo Domingo, Colorados, Guayaquil, and LaLibertad.

Father Desmond’s primary objective over the last two years was to provide improved or new housing for the villagers, who were living in reeded wall houses with dirt floors. In 2022, nine houses were built courtesy of the donations of friends and Our Lady of Consola­tion parishioners at the cost of $5,300 per house.

In total, through the years, the community has been blessed with over 60 new homes, but another challenge has been the lack of water. The village is close to the sea, and drilling only yielded salt water, so five-gallon jugs were given to families.

Tom said, “They reuse the water economically, and we've been able to put in septic systems with their basic houses of cement floors. It’s nothing fancy, believe me. We wouldn't be comfortable living there, but to them, it's everything.”

Ecuador Quilt, Inc. applies for grants but also depends on donations from the community.