Ecualove

Due to the gracious contributions of my fabulous and incredibly supportive family, On March 3, 2012, at 2 a.m. I left with Villanova with thirteen other students to embark on what would turn out to be a twenty-two hour journey to Duran, Ecuador.  Though this trip was qualified as a “service break experience”, my group and I would not be doing anything concrete while living in Ecuador. We would not be building a house, constructing a clean water filtration system, or demolishing a devastated house. We were sent to Ecuador to “be” rather than to “do.” We were told that we would be spending the week living in Arbolito, one of the poorest communities in Duran, which is an economically destitute community just outside of the city of Guayaquil, Ecuador. We would be living in the same manner that our neighbors do on a day-to-day basis, and were told to bring no technology (including cameras), jewelry, or snacks.  We were also told that it was wet season, which means it rains every day, all the time. I was so, so incredibly excited to be challenged by this trip. I know that I learn the most from being as far outside of my comfort zone as possible, and I felt that I could really learn a lot from Ecuadorians by living right alongside them.

When we arrived, we were driven into a gated compound in the middle of one of the poorest neighborhoods I have ever seen. While my neighbors lived in houses made out of sugar cane, scraps of wood, and tin, I lived in a house with solid walls, tiled floors, and mosquito nets over the bed to block out the swarms of mosquitoes that gathered near the swamp and river that ran along side of the house. Poverty and violence often go hand in hand, so it was understandable that there was such a high gate around the house, a security guard, and a guard dog named Wooky, but even within the community it sometimes felt like we were living in a little island amidst a sea of poverty. We lived with 4 year long volunteers with a Catholic organization called Rostro de Cristo, or face of Christ, whose mission is to unite Americans and Ecuadorians in order to find long-term solutions to the challenges of poverty. My favorite part of the mission statement is the goal to “inspire life-long commitments to service, social justice and solidarity in the global community.”

Me and Josue

So far, I have only described the conditions that I saw in Ecuador as destitute and wrought with poverty. It is very true that the community that I lived in has both infrastructural and social problems that need to be addressed, but the community of people that we met were incredible. Not only did they welcome us into their homes with generosity, sharing their food, stories, and families, but those that we met had a lot in common with us. One of our closest friends in the community was a college student, Aide, who had been an incredible student and was now getting a degree in sociology from a local university. Though it is their summer now, she was taking night classes at her university to get ahead, and also worked with Rostro de Cristo at their after school programs and helped with hosting student groups such as ourselves.  Another woman, Lupe, had just ended her marriage with an abusive husband, and was now being manipulated by her children for more money. At one point, she was in tears telling us her story, but it was important to her that we hear it. 

  Even though I met many of people from Ecuador who greatly moved me, the most inspirational person that I met was Pat, a former nun who left her order because they didn’t agree with the work that she wanted to do in Ecuador. She founded a high-end school for the upper class citizens of Guayaquil, stocked with SMART boards, air conditioned classrooms, and the finest teachers money could buy and called it Nuevo Mundo.  It charges a high tuition and requires an average of a 16.5/20 on all exams in order to remain enrolled (grades are given on a scale of 20 in Ecuador instead of 100). Due to lack of infrastructure for school buildings, it is also common in Ecuador to have two sessions of school per day, splitting up the students into the morning group and the afternoon group in order to decrease class sizes. Nuevo Mundo has a morning class of wealthy children, and afterwards, a select group of students who have the scores to qualify are brought in for the afternoon session. The children in the afternoon session get to benefit from all the resources that the children in the morning session receive, at a mere fraction of the price. 

The afternoon school, or the Fundacion, stops at the high school level, mostly because there are very few students who maintain the academic standards that Pat requires of the Nuevo Mundo students. However, those who receive an A average are invited to join the morning students for high school. Each year, there are 10 spots reserved for these high school students, but unfortunately all ten spots are never filled. Next year, 5 new students from the afternoon school will be joining the morning school for their high school experience with the some of the wealthiest members of the Guayaquil community. We had the chance to meet with these 5 students, and talk with them (in English) about their studies, hobbies, and university life in America. They were so excited, engaging, and educated about their county. One boy was particularly impressive: not only did he have the goal of becoming the president of Ecuador, but he also had a concrete, step by step plan of how he was going to accomplish this. 

After explaining all the logistical details of the school to us, Pat presented us with a challenge. She asked us, “How are you going to get your way into heaven?” She continued, “I know I already have a spot up there, and no one ever told me that I need to secure it. You don’t have that excuse. Now someone has told you that you need to go out and make an impact on the world. You just need to figure out how you’re going to do it.” At that moment, I could feel something twinge in my heart. I’ve known that I want to work in international development since I was 15, but I still haven’t figured out in what capacity. Pat’s talk about her school, how she had moved down to Ecuador, separating herself from her family and all the creature comforts of living in the country she was born in, and how she had given her entire life for the students in the Fundacion really inspired me.  It made me want to make an impact now, which was frustrating because I have 2 and a half semesters of school before I can commit to something concrete. But then I realized I could make a real impact simply by incorporating what I learned on my trip into my life. By living simply, I live in solidarity with the people that I felt so connected with while in Ecuador. By being generous, I show others the kindness I saw in my neighbors in Ecuador. By telling others about Pat, Aide, Lupe, and my favorite young boys at the after school program (Manos Abiertas)I make the situations that they are facing seem much more real to my family and friends at home. 

We fried plantains every single night with the help of our neighbors. I can't find plantains anywhere in Philadelphia to replicate them... let me know if you know a place...