2. About us
Overview
La Vida‟s Resources
La Vida is a UK registered charity which identifies, funds and oversees
11 person team
projects that will directly advance and enhance health and education of
those living in poverty in the Latin American region. £210K+ raised
97% of funds go
These grants fund projects such as student scholarships, medical directly to projects.
training, school expansions and community health education.
Everyone working for the charity, including the trustees, gives their Have impacted
time on a voluntary basis. over 25,000
disadvantaged
children and their
„La Vida Story‟ families in Latin
America
La Vida was co-founded by Katy Vatis and Helen Ilsley following a
business trip to Brazil in February 2006.
During this trip, they met Dr. Monica Nogueira, an orthopedic pediatric
surgeon trying to raise US$50,000 to train Brazilian orthopedic
surgeons the 'Ponseti Technique' of treating Clubfoot.
The trustees wanted to help and registered La Vida as a UK charity by
August 2006. In two months, they had funded the whole project.
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3. Projects
Guatemala
The Breastfeeding Support
Project: training for new
Guatemala mothers (US$ 6,200 per year)
The Spina Bifida Prevention
Project (US$ 8,000)
Colombia
The Poder Joven Project: run a
preventative programme to help
children find an alternative to the
Guatemala streets (US$ 7,500 per year)
The Escuela Republica de Francia
School Project: creating an
Activities Hall and providing
Brazil
equipment (US$ 7,200)
The Combu School Project:
provide windows for the school
(US$ 800)
Peru
The Villa Maria Pre-School
Project: new and improved
facilities and scholarship funding Brazil
(US$ 266 per pupil, per year)
The Siao Orphanage Project:
plantation project (US$ 8,000)
Bolivia
The Helping Hands Project:
further education sponsorship of Brazil
students (US$ 5,000 per year)
The Ponseti Technique Project:
training surgeons the technique
of treating clubfoot (US$ 50,000)
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4. Our founding project in focus
The Ponseti Technique Project
Sao Paulo and 20 other cities in Brazil
US$ 50,000 funded in 2006 and 2007
We trained 556 surgeons to treat
clubfoot with the groundbreaking Ponseti
Technique, 7% of all surgeons in Brazil.
Following our workshop, 94% of the “Our funding will help treat the 7000
surgeons we trained said they would children born with clubfoot each year
change their method of treatment to the in Brazil.”
Ponseti technique, which will produce
much better results on future children
born with clubfoot.
In 2009, Dr Monica Nogueira and La Vida
won an award for „“recognition of the
outstanding progress in developing a
program for treatment of children of
clubfoot”.
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5. Our current projects in focus
The Breastfeeding Support Project
Hospital San Juan de Dios
Guatemala City, Guatemala
US$3500 per year (on-going annual
commitment)
Objective is to educate new
mothers about the benefits of
breastfeeding
This is to prevent mothers, on low
income, moving onto expensive
formula which they tend to dilute,
and leads to malnourished newborns.
“Our aim is to support and teach new
mothers how to breastfeed using the
A specific nurse is paid for by the Kangaroo program. Breastfed babies
project to impart the „know-how‟ on in low income households are
how to breastfeed and conduct generally better nourished than those
workshops for new mothers. given formula, because mothers tend
to give diluted formula to their
babies, as it‟s expensive.”
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6. Our current projects in focus
The Helping Hands Project
La Paz, Bolivia
US$ 5,000 (on-going annual commitment)
La Vida provides financial support
so that disadvantaged young people
can finish their studies.
Many of the students we support
do not have the support of their
families
Students follow a variety of “a true dream for all the young
courses including dental technician people so they can finish their
and petroleum engineering studies.”
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7. Partnership Opportunities – Project Sponsorship
We also seek project sponsorship Make a difference...
Sponsors can elect to fund entire or
partial projects. We are happy to seek
specific project types for interested
parties. Villa Maria is one such project:
Villa Maria Pre-School
Lima, Peru £15 per month will sponsor a
child‟s education
La Vida funds have provided
new equipment and a
complete refurbishment for £20 will purchase essential
this school, including the school materials
installation of a computer
suite, a library and an outside
activity area. £100 will buy a computer
for a school
We are proud to sponsor local
children throughout their pre-
school education, and plan to £1000 will fund a specific project
fill the school‟s remaining for the school e.g. a science lab
places
or an activities room.
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8. What we have achieved
1. Brazil
- The Ponseti Project, trained 556 orthopaedic surgeons, who
have so far successfully treated, using the Ponseti technique,
around 15,000 -20,000 babies born with clubfoot.
2. Guatemala
- Our Spina Bifida Project in Guatemala provided funding for 199
seminars where we taught 2393 people the importance of taking
folic acid when pregnant to avoid Spina Bifida.
- 2026 new mothers have been helped by our breastfeeding
programme at the San Juan de Dios Hospital in Guatemala City.
3. Peru
- Villa Maria School „Sponsor a Child‟ programme. We fund the
education of 47 children in Villa Maria, a shanty town in Lima.
We have helped around 25,000 disadvantaged
children and their families in Latin America
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9. Why La Vida?
We focus exclusively on health and education – targeted support
has a positive impact in some of the world‟s poorest countries
We have a rigorous governance process – we go to great lengths
to ensure funds are properly allocated
Everybody working for La Vida does so on a voluntary basis – at
least 97% of donations go directly to the projects we support
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12. Trustees
Katy Vatis – Chairperson Aneli Gonzalez – Treasurer
Katy co-founded La Vida with Helen Ilsley after a business Aneli joined the La Vida Board of Trustees in 2006, with
trip to Brazil in early 2006. She has a degree in Economics the aim of giving something back to Latin America.
with Spanish from the University of Birmingham. Katy Originally from Guatemala, she graduated with First Class
started her career at Pictet Asset Management in 2000 and honours from the London School of Economics, has a
then moved to Threadneedle Investments as a Latin M.Sc. in Economics for Development from Oxford
American Portfolio Manager in 2006. Her work has University. She started her career at Merrill Lynch in
involved a lot of travel to the region where she has London specialising in Latin American equities. She
experienced first hand the extreme levels of poverty and continues with that role at another investment bank
the need for improvements in health and education. Katy today. Both her work and family ties allows her to have a
is a CFA charterholder and speaks Spanish and Portuguese. strong connection with the region which she visits
regularly. Aneli is a CFA charterholder and is fluent in
Spanish, French and English.
Helen Ilsley – Secretary
Helen co-founded La Vida together with Katy Vatis in the
Autumn of 2006, specifically to raise funds for their original Rosie Bichard - Trustee
project, The Ponseti Technique Clubfoot Project in Brazil. Rosie has a degree in French and Spanish from St John's
Helen is a Latin American equity salesperson at Deutsche College, Cambridge and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
Bank, and has been closely involved with Latin America for She has worked in finance since 1990, and was involved
more than 12 years. She received her BA in Business with Latin America for twelve years as both an investment
Economics from Nottingham Trent University. banker and a portfolio manager for Deutsche Bank. She
currently works as the Global Consumer Analyst for
Newton Investment Management, part of Bank of New
Lisa Smart – Trustee York Mellon. Rosie has travelled extensively in Latin
Lisa has been a trustee of La Vida since it was founded in America for both personal and professional reasons and
2006. She is a relationship manager for North American speaks both Spanish and Portuguese. Rosie became a La
institutional clients at Pictet Asset Management. Lisa has Vida trustee in early 2008.
recently achieved an MBA from the London Business
School and has a degree in Mathematics from the
University of Durham.
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13. Executive Committee
Carla Bloom - Design and Creative Director
Carla joined La Vida‟s Executive Committee in early 2009 Della Deme - Head of Fundraising
as Design and Creative Director. Carla is responsible for Della joined La Vida‟s Executive Committee in early 2009 as
maintaining La Vida‟s website and newsletter and the Head of Fundraising. Della is a Vice President at Gerson
material design. Carla received her Bachelor of Lehrman Group and has spent time in the firm‟s New York,
Commerce degree in South Africa majoring in Marketing, London and Hong Kong offices. She received her BA from Yale
Finance and Logistics. She is currently Investor Relations University, where she double majored in Political Science and
Officer at Carphone Warehouse and previously held Fine Art.
positions in marketing and events in the UK and South
Africa.
Kessey Esteves – Head of Events
Kessey helped organise the “Brazilian Frenzy” event for La
Kelly Breslin - Head of Volunteering Vida in 2008 and soon after was invited to join the executive
Kelly Breslin has worked at Accenture for the last nine committee. Kessey is responsible for the organisation of La
and a half years primarily in their Systems Integration Vida‟s events. Kessey is an Event Management and PR
Consulting area. She has a degree in Economics and graduate of London Metropolitan University. Kessey is
Spanish from the University of Birmingham. As well as originally from Brazil, but spent most of her youth in the
La Vida, she also does pro-bono charity work for See The United States. Her involvement with La Vida came from
Difference. Kelly has travelled extensively throughout being interested in helping her home country in the areas
Central America and Brazil and speaks fluent Spanish. most needed by applying her event management skills.
Karina Damasio – Marketing and Executive Event Co- Marta Rodriguez – Head of Projects
ordinator Marta joined La Vida in January 2009. She has a degree in
Karina helped organise the “Brazilian Frenzy” event for Business Administration and Finance from the University of
La Vida in 2008 and soon after was invited to join the Zaragoza in Spain. Marta started her career with Deutsche
Executive Committee. Karina is responsible for La Vida‟s Bank in Edinburgh in 2000 and now works at JPMorgan Asset
long term marketing campaign and assisting with the Management as a Product Development Manager, which also
organisation of the events. Karina came from a involves managing the relationship with her Latin American
Marketing background having worked with Johnson & business from a product perspective. Marta has recently been
Johnson and currently works at My Goodness, a sports working in Brazil. She is also a CFA Charterholder.
drink company. In 2009 she moved back to Brazil from
London and is in charge of La Vida's Brazilian operations
based in Sao Paulo.
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