I chose the name of I Love Otavalo.com because when I first came here in May of 2004 I really loved this place. Since then I have felt discouraged and disillusioned by a lot of things, but I try to keep thinking of the good things about being here. This place is interesting and many people are very friendly. I have found, though, that sometimes being friendly does not also mean being honest. 

But the children are so wonderful here. They are the main reason I came here and the main reason I have stayed here. Not only do I want to help the ones I have met who were sleeping on the streets and being abused in their homes, but I want to help lots of other children too. 

There is a lot of beautiful nature here. But the people here don't take are of it or appreciated it. I want to give the world a true picture of Otavalo and the surrounding communities, not just present a lot of pretty pictures. I will show pretty pictures but I will also show you the polluted rivers and poor neighborhoods with dirt streets. 

I also chose this name because before I came here I was very depressed and often felt suicidal because of all the problems I have seen in the world. Coming here was good for my mental health, at least at first. I felt I could make a difference and I felt supported by many people. Now things have changed a little, but I still see many possibilities here. 

One of the main reasons I decided to move here was to help start a home for abandoned and abused children and teenagers. For years I have been writing about the abuse of children and teenagers around the world but I have not been able to do much more than write about it. At times I felt hopeless and very alone. But here I was starting to feel much more optimistic. People were helping me with my plans and there are children everywhere who were happy to have a chance to practice a little English with the 'Gringito' - the little gringo. I want to do something to help the community and also to help raise funds for the projects to help the children. So on this page the idea is to sell a little advertising later on and also some products and to put so much good information on the page that it becomes number one in google for searches on "Otavalo." This is how my page on emotional intelligence got to be number one - by putting good information on it. 

And I chose the name I Love Otavalo because I want to remind people that children need a lot of love. Business is fine if we don't forget the children. When I opened this site I wrote: "Beyond that I want to remind people here to help each other and not compete with each other or try to hurt someone else. I want to set a good example of how business can work. One way I wanted to do this am doing this is by the idea my friend Eduardo and I came up with. We are offering free web pages to all the business and community groups in the area." Since I wrote I have seen that not many people share my philosophy of doing business, but I sill will continue to follow my own vision as much as I can.

Steve Hein
September 5, 2004