Life Saving Steps has eliminated the problem of an up to 5% mortality rate in young children in remote Andean, Amazonian and even the hyper-impoverished slums and encampments, attributed to exposure to cold and disease primarily through their feet. MOTIV’s teams of volunteers and medical professionals educate these populations on proper foot care and Equip them with proper protective footwear.
Program Description
MOTIV provides a variety of programs for all ages. For the younger kids, we offer Kids Story Clubs, After School Enrichment and Tutoring and English lessons. For those a bit older and up to 18 years old, we provide training in Microsoft Office, Google’s G-Suite, Basic Finance, and Crypto Currencies and Blockchain Technology. Life Saving Steps was MOTIV’s first program.
MOTIV was founded when two people from two outstanding NGOs discovered a 5-year-old boy named Johnathan who was completely ignored in every way by the people of his tiny Andean village. It was beyond comprehension how this could be the case in a small tribal environment that also shared a common faith that would not accept this kind of treatment of such a young child. He was not an outcast but rather treated as literally invisible. Nobody would even speak to him. He started showing up in the village’s tiny school because he saw other kids his size doing that. The other students nor the teacher even acknowledged his presence. The reason was eventually discovered. It was heart-breaking, but also seemingly simple to solve.
Johnathan’s Story
Johnathan with program director, Valentin Popescu
Johnathan’s mother had died during childbirth and his father was a raging alcoholic. Johnathan essentially raised himself and learned what he could from other kids his size when he could get near enough to observe them. He lived in a little mud huddle on the outskirts of the village. He raised guinea pigs for their warmth, their companionship, and for his meals. We could see that he walked strangely and he apparently did not speak well. What we could not understand though, is why his village, his tribe, did not step in to assist. The village President finally filled in the missing pieces of the puzzle.
This village and others like it lose about 5% of their young kids each year to conditions related to exposure, primarily through their feet. Their feet have crusty blackened skin and they suffer from foot development problems because those who don’t die of things like pneumonia are likely to have some level of deformity from the feet repeatedly freezing and thawing. They can typically find or make warm garments, but not footwear.
“…for roughly $2500 annually, we could get 100 kids a pair of rugged athletic sole hiking boots which were light enough for the summer but warm enough for the winter, seven pairs of socks, and two visits per year by medical foot care specialists.”
We studied possible solutions and found that for roughly $2500 annually, we could get 100 kids a pair of rugged athletic sole hiking boots which were light enough for the summer but warm enough for the winter, seven pairs of socks, and two visits per year by medical foot care specialists. We could not turn away and found that we were going to have to do it ourselves with the help of donors. Thus began the Life Saving Steps program, and MOTIV. MOTIV means action and movement and making things happen. Another definition for MOTIV is the reason behind why you do something. It was a perfect fit. Our Icon is an M, but it’s shape reminded the founders of someone holding Johnathan in their arms to lift him out of the cycle of abuse, neglect and poverty he was in. We now have 2000 kids in the Life Saving Steps program and our goal is to add another 1000 annually.
The journey that Johnathan took us on defined our mission. We seek to serve those who have no access or means to rise from whatever trappings they are bound by, through Educating, Equipping and Empowering them. These three “E’s” allow individuals and communities alike to Emancipate themselves and Elevate themselves out of the situations that cause them to have no hope.
MOTIV Tech Program Overview
More than __ kids are served by this program in __ villages
Goal: Increase size of reach by 500 children per month
Provides employment for MOTIV’s Podology Certificate graduates
Now providing blankets and masks
At MOTIV Taking Action is what lies at our core
– Do you want to donate Crypto to an NGO whose work serves to stabilize and raise the value of Crypto?
– Do you want to head down to impoverished third world areas and serve alongside our teams?
– Do you want to donate products or services that will advance our mission?
Whatever you’re moved to do, be MOTIV about it and become part of something truly revolutionary!