Who We Are

The History

GRACE unofficially began in 2018 when the founders moved their family to Cuenca, Ecuador, to aid refugees living in the city. They conducted fundraising drives for a food pantry, refugee passage out of Venezuela, medical bills for those in need, school uniforms and supplies for refugee children, and other essential needs. At that time, the founders of GRACE were filling their homes with droves of refugees to forge friendships and gain insight into the culture and conditions of the Venezuelan refugee community. We conducted primary research through a 125 question survey completed by 150 refugees, investigating all life matters from housing, employment, mental health, and understanding incentives.

Eventually, the founders were approached by a Venezuelan doctor eager to help his community by providing free medical consultations to his brethren. Dr. Daniel Avila had spent the last two years bussing tables in Cuenca to save enough money to prove his medical credentials in Ecuador; now that he had them, he wanted to serve his community. That triggered the founding of giving Refugees A Chance (GRACE) in 2019 as a U.S. 501c3 to accept donations to fund this endeavor. First, GRACE partnered with a church that donated two back storage rooms towards our cause. Then we formed a strategic partnership with the labs at the premier hospital in Cuenca, Monte Sinai. They allowed us to conduct blood, urine, and stool labs for next to nothing (Thank you, Sonia Cabrera 🙂 We were then highlighted at the Governors Humanitarian Awards, and volunteer doctors started to pour in. At one time, 12 volunteer doctors were on a rotation in those two closet-like consultors.

Eventually, this group of refugees banded together to form an official and progressive medical clinic called Fundación GRACE which currently attends to up to 600 persons per month without charge in Cuenca, Ecuador.