Many say that education is the key to success and that many doors open after achieving academic goals. Which is true, but this road tends to be filled with difficulties and challenges for many people. Yeimmy Paola is a young woman who entered Fundamor at the age of 7; she remained at the institution for 12 years until her graduation. Yeimmy was not exempt from these obstacles and with hard work, determination and the unconditional support of The Orphaned Starfish Foundation, she has achieved her goals and is transforming her life and the people around it. In 2023, she graduated as a technician in “Early Childhood Care”, a career that she would not have been able to pursue without the support of OSF, who believed in her abilities and tenacity. Yeimmy is now a woman who really wants to provide and help her family. She has two beautiful girls, and an excellent partner, who has supported her in everything so that she could achieve her dream of studying.

Every OSF visit is unique and special given the various cultures and traditions of each country. This summer, OSF Founder, Andy, traveled to the peak of the Druk Amitabha mountain, which overlooks the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal. The top of Druk Amitabha houses Amitabha Monastery, a Himalayan Buddhist Monastery where nuns from the Drukpa lineage live and learn Kung Fu for self-defense. They are also known as the Kung Fu Nuns. This monastery is also an Orphaned Starfish Technology Center.

The month of September has been a life-changing experience for the Orphaned Starfish Foundation and all the children that we serve in the beautiful African continent. OSF had the opportunity to meet incredible people and reconnect with students and friends. Throughout this visit we gathered knowledge and unforgettable events that we will cherish for the rest of our lives. We will forever be grateful for the opportunity we had to be exposed to their culture, community, and love. OSF wants to thank our wonderful supporters from London, Addy and Gonzalo, who brought along their family — Jo, Charlie, David, and Johnny for this ultimate experience.

Creativity can flourish even in the most uncertain times and events. 2020 was a year where the world was at a standstill and people all over the world were trying to hold onto hope. Those were challenging times, but that did not stop the Orphaned Starfish students’ determination and creativity. In collaboration with We Make Movies, a film-making initiative was created to give a voice and space to the OSF students to manifest their experiences and emotions by producing their own movies. Throughout these past couple years, the Orphaned Starfish Foundation students have been at work learning about shooting, editing and everything in between pre and post production. All the hard work that these students have put into creating the different pieces has finally paid off as the winners of the OSF x WMM 2024 Film Making Competition will be recognized at the Miami Short Film Festival this September.

A few months ago, The Orphaned Starfish Foundation had the honor to witness one of our students graduating college. These are the moments that we live for! We are proud of Fa’afetai and all her accomplishments. The OSF team is excited to see all the opportunities that will come her way and the amazing things she'll do in the lives of others.

Nothing rejoices us more than seeing our students take advantage of the many opportunities that technology can offer. This past June we had the opportunity to visit three of our programs in Honduras and Guatemala along with our Houston family the Morales, Bailey’s, Owen’s, Van der Ven & Martinez and Coopers and spend time with the students and teachers at the different locations.

Fundamor received a visit from Andrew Stein for the first time in October 2010, through Conexión Colombia. In 2011 we sent the proposal, and it was approved in November by the Orphaned Starfish Foundation. In February 2012, the technology room was put into operation at the Fundamor headquarters in the city of Cali for the benefit of girls, boys and adolescents linked to the residential modality (HIV special care disease), being “officially” inaugurated on June 15, 2012.

1. How did you get involved with OSF? / How did OSF start in your community? Andy came to visit us in 2015 with some of his friends. He played games, made balloon animals, and magic tricks with the girls and from that moment on he has been supporting us. 2. Tell us the story of your community. When we arrived in Mexico, we had no idea of the complexity, proliferation, or enormity of the problem of modern slavery. We were amazed at the number of children being treated each year. The statistics impressed us and weighed heavily on our hearts. We knew that we were witnessing one of the greatest tragedies of our generation. We were led to respond and act, and that is how El Pozo de Vida A.C. started.