A Worthy Cause
Your Guardian Angel Foundation receives donations of medicine, clothes, food and many other essential products and ships them to those in need in Venezuela.
What Happened?
Since the early 20th Century, Venezuela’s stability has depended on exploiting its oil reserves, which generated billions in revenue each year.
In 1998, communist firebrand, Hugo Chavez, was elected president by pledging to use oil profits for crucial social programs, and promote government spending on domestic industrial sectors. However, after years of corruption, oil prices plummeted, and Venezuelans were unable to afford the basic necessities for survival. A once burgeoning, vibrant economy lost steam, and its people began to suffer.
As of 2017, floundering oil prices continue to cause economic chaos in Venezuela. Food shortages have resulted in endless lines for basic necessities, and the recent drought has made fresh water scarce. In a number of cities, protesters have clashed with security forces, demanding change. Current President Nicolás Maduro has presided over huge opposition gains in the government, while failing to capture popularity as living standards worsen, and crime, inflation and hunger increases. The referendum put forth to recall Maduro has been largely ignored.
Monthly protests have turned into daily riots where many Venezuelans have been murdered fighting for their basic human rights. Shortages of medicine and food have finally driven organizations from around the world to offer assistance, but Maduro refuses to admit that the crisis even exists. Recently, the United States labelled Maduro a dictator, froze his U.S. assets, and banned him from entering the country. This year president Donald Trump indicted Maduro for drug trafficking, offering a $15 million reward for information leading to his arrest. While the corrupt government of Venezuela consolidate power, its citizens are dying. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Prince Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein states Venezuela has seen a “dramatic decline in enjoyment of economic and social rights, with increasingly widespread hunger and sharply deteriorating health-care.”
TAKING ACTION
Your Guardian Angel receives medicine, clothes, food and many other essential products and ships them to those in need in poverty-stricken regions. In addition, 15% of all earnings from Paola’s streetwear line, Humble Hustler, goes directly to purchasing and shipping these basic necessities to those in need.
Meet OUR FOUNDER
Paola Estefania was born in Venezuela, in the city of Coro, in the state of Falon. Her father had a thriving career as captain of oil tankers for PDVSA, what used to be the country’s backbone and South America’s leading oil industry.
During an oil strike in 2002, Venezuelan opposition attempted to overthrow President Hugo Chavez from power by creating an oil lockout. Her father was among the opposition leaders, who strongly believed in a new referendum to stop government corruption.
As a result, his assets were illegally seized and confiscated. Paola’s family feared for their safety, and sought political asylum in the United States, settling in Orlando, Florida.
Paola went on to live the American Dream, moving to Los Angeles and earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Interior Design and Architecture.
She understands the insurmountable obstacles that one faces as a minority trying to make it in such a competitive industry, but she embraced what makes her special, championed diversity, and became a master at her craft. She is now a highly sought-after haute couture designer who creates custom pieces for clients all over the world. She worked hard to build her own business from the ground up, and she went on to start her own fashion label. However, Paola never forgot where she came from.
During a recent visit to Venezuela, Paola personally witnessed the devastation of this country, and decided to take matters into her own hands by creating a non-profit, charitable organization dedicated to helping the citizens of Venezuela.
She also expanded her philanthropic endeavors in other Latin American countries, utilizing her resources and network to give back to as many people in need as possible. Paola has worked alongside charities in Tijuana and Baja California to serve underprivileged communities, and make a profound difference.
That’s when Your Guardian Angel was founded. Her goal is to help her fellow countrymen, women, and children in need, both in Venezuela and around the world. Your Guardian Angel receives medicine, clothes, food and many other essential products and ships them to those in need in poverty-stricken regions. In addition, 15% of all earnings from Paola’s streetwear line, Humble Hustler, goes directly to purchasing and shipping these basic necessities to those in need.
Now more than ever, Paola realizes the importance of leveraging her platform to give back. She is an active philanthropist in the city of Los Angeles, constantly serving underprivileged Latino communities and doing her part to raise awareness. She also promotes diversity through her line Humbler Hustlers, and haute couture line, Paola Estefania, to give opportunities that she never received when she was starting out.