In February, 1965, at the age of 9, Zully JF Alvarado was taken from her family in Ecuador and brought to the United States by a missionary priest for medical treatment. Her village and surrounding villages had no medical facilities, supplies or physicians to treat her illness. She had been shuttled from witch doctor to witch doctor without success. In 1996, now a Chicago businesswoman, Zully instituted her dream and began the nonprofit organization Causes for Change International. The same year, she traveled with volunteer Marilyn Varn on a three-week mission to gather information about what was needed to build a cultural exchange program to improve the lives of those in need. With the success of that mission, the vision of empowerment began.