¡Capitán Mineral! ...and other tales of healthy living

As MPI Ecuador team 2010-2011 heads into its final couple of months (I’m sorry, it’s June?!  Where are the long days and warm nights to alert us to summer??  Oh, yes: we left them at higher latitudes.), we are finding it hard to believe it’s been nearly a year since we arrived.  Many of our programs have undergone several incarnations as classes stopped and started again with each quarter or we made changes to meet the apparently changing landscape of our community in the Valley.  However, one program that has followed a steady track since we sat down to meet in August has been the nutrition program at Fundación Aliñambi.

The curriculum we planned for the sixth grade class at Aliñambi is an ambitious one including three components: the garden, the kitchen, and the classroom, interwoven to bring a practical, hands-on element to the theory.  We began in January with the five themes that have governed the class: the cycle connecting food in the earth and its preparation to health in the body, hygiene in the kitchen and food preparation, the food pyramid (which is slightly different in Ecuador from the one that until recently existed in the US), macro- and micronutrients, and foods of Ecuador.  Our Tuesday classes have consisted either of a charla (lecture) or a portfolio entry with which we reinforce the unit we’re in.  Our macro-/micronutrient charla (and subsequent lessons) introduced each nutrient as a superhero or personage that does various things for the body.  The classroom now features a big poster of the food pyramid with colored pictures of food pasted in each category, and each child has in his or her portfolio a personal food pyramid that contains that child’s favorite foods peppered with images of characters like Capitán Mineral, el Rey Carbohidrato, and el Gato Gordo. 

Being able to work with one consistent group of kids over the course of the year has been great for the nutrition team.  I feel like I’ve grown close to them, and it’s been amazing to watch them learn throughout the year.  It will be really hard to say goodbye in July!

Me with our nutrition class on a field trip to Añamisi, our partner agricultural organization, in January.

Shaking things up in Women's Exercise

Three out of four of the women living in the Manna house are involved in the women's exercise program, which continues to run six different classes five days a week.  With an update on some changes that have been underway in this ever-popular program, here's Ashley!


Time is zooming by and things are changing upstairs in women’s exercise. All of our classes are getting revamped - new kicks and punches for tae bo, challenging stretching and flexing for pilates, exciting dance moves for zumba, creative steps for weights, and fresh combinations for yoga. But the class that has been upgraded the most is our circuits class, which has recently been transformed entirely.

In addition to using new exercises for the individual stations, we have altered the music (and the way of telling when to change stations). Initially, we would play 45 seconds of a song, and then 15 seconds of another one for the station change. It was somewhat confusing, and women who had not attended classes often needed our prompting to know when to switch. Now, we have a new system: the same song continues to play until it’s over, and gets quiet when Noel’s voice says “¡Cambie!” indicating that it’s time to change! The women loved it and said that it was so much easier to figure out!

In addition, we’ve added a more interactive aspect to the circuits class. We used to go through the sets of circuits 4 times during one class, but we’ve now added a group cardio section for 15 minutes in the middle of class. It allows us to all do something together, and of course, sweat a lot. Noel, Becky, and I even have a hard time making it through those 15 minutes, as we try to push ourselves to doing a variety of really intense cardio activities!

Zumba has also gotten a change, even if it’s just of an instructor. I have recently started teaching Zumba classes every other week. To start with, it was just nerve-wracking, as I am not a particularly skilled dancer, but has ended up being a blast for all of us. It’s another intense cardio workout to add to our plethora of classes, and everyone loves a workout that makes you sweat and is so much fun! 

Vote to win $5,000 for Manna!

The Wills Company in Nashville is celebrating its 20th anniversary by donating $5,000 to a Nashville charity voted on by visitors to its website.  Since Manna is a Nashville-based organization (if this is news to you, please visit our main website to find out more), we fit the bill!  You can help us by submitting your vote, and polls close very soon: May 31st.

Vote for Manna!

¡Bienvenida, Darcy; Hasta la Vista, Bibi!

Since I was out of town in the States this weekend and had to miss this momentous event, Becky is here to fill you in on our official change of directors in the eyes of the community where we work, Rumiloma:


This past Saturday, Manna Ecuador hosted a Bienvenida/Despedida in honor of Bibi leaving her position as Country Director in Ecuador and welcoming Darcy Phillips as the new Country Director of the Ecuador site.  Following the adult English classes on Saturday morning, we headed up to the third floor women’s exercise room where the celebration began.  In addition to the adult English students, many of the kid’s who visit our centro on a regular basis brought their parents to join in the festivities.  Even though the circumstances of saying goodbye to Bibi were sad, we were exciting to officially welcome Darcy to the team. 

Before the party got started, we began getting the room ready with tables, chairs, and food.  On the white board, we wrote a note for Bibi and Darcy in which many of the kids added their own parting words as well as expressed their excitement for a new director.  After the community members filed in, Zoë began the event with a short speech that shared our sadness and excitement for the change of country director position.  Bibi then address our community member explaining that she is not leaving the community, but when she returns, she will return as a friend and member of the community rather than the director of Manna.  She also expressed how proud she was of everything the community has accomplished in her time with Manna and how her work in Rumiloma and the surrounding areas has aided in her own personal growth.  Bibi ended her speech by introducing the community to Darcy, who proclaimed her excitement to be working with Manna and to officially meet the community.

Lucía and Carlos, our business development partner.

Luke with some regulars to the library.

Jack and Paola, a longtime friend of MPI Ecuador.

Bibi and Wendy, one of Manna's biggest fans.

Brock and one of his English students, Walter.

Zoë and Vinicio.

Vinicio and his mom, Jenny, presenting Bibi with a farewell bouquet.

During the Bienvenida/Despedida, the program directors and summer volunteers mingled with the community members, who were having a blast taking pictures with all of us.  Some individuals in the community brought gifts for both Bibi and Darcy, to express their own feelings of gratitude and excitement for a new face in the centro.  One child, whose mom is in the English class, presented Bibi and Darcy with bouquets of roses.  It was great to see how our relationship with the community members is truly appreciated.


While this event was very successful and cheerful, I couldn’t help but think with sadness of the upcoming Bienvenida/Despedida that my fellow Program Directors and I will be participating in when we turn the organization over to a new set of volunteers in early August.


As always, keep up with our summer volunteers on their page of the blog!

MPI connects with local entrepreneurs in Small Business Development

MPI Ecuador's business program has undergone significant changes under the 2010-2011 PD team.  Here to outline its current goings-on is Jack.  To check up on the work our summer volunteers are doing, please visit the Summer Session 1 tab at the top of the blog!


Since January, the Small Business Development program has been offering free consulting services to various businesses in the communities of Rumiloma and Sangolquí. Over the past several months, we have streamlined our approach to heavily target the finances and accounting of the businesses we encounter. When appropriate, we also advise businesses on any possible opportunities we find, ranging from moving locations to carrying different products.

An important part of this program has been Carlos Rodriguez, a finance student from Quito. Carlos makes a one and a half hour journey out to Rumiloma every Saturday to attend one of our English classes and help us work with local businesses. With his help, we have turned the small business program into a structured operation that we are excited to expand.

About a month ago, we finished working with Rosita, a woman who was operating a two-in-one business: half small food store, half sewing business. Rosita did not practice any accounting, and how no idea how much money she was making. First, we taught her to keep a balance sheet. Next, we helped her figure out the wholesale costs of her store’s products; many of her products were bought in bulk, and only some products included a sales tax. We walked Rosita through the mathematical functions she needed to operate on her calculator. Soon enough, she was calculating her gross income for the first time. We eventually added up her monthly income and compared it against her costs of rent, electricity, phone, and water. Unfortunately, we discovered that Rosita was barely making any money. Rosita had been working 15 hours a day, and only made about $60 a month. That’s 15 hours of work to earn $2. Among other things, the biggest problem was a high monthly rent that devoured her income. Although Rosita was disappointed when she saw the numbers, she was glad that she discovered her business’ financial standing sooner rather than later; she might have gone months or years without having realized that her husband’s income was the only reason her business was staying afloat. Rosita is currently in the process of selling her space (there have already been several interested enquirers) and will continue to offer sewing services from her house. She will also continue to sell her products at the local Thursday Sangolquí market as well as at local popular events, such as soccer games. By shedding the disability of a costly location, she will be able to keep a much higher percentage of her income and have a higher profit.

Since completing our work with Rosita, the small business program has been working on organizing a book-keeping system for the owner of a small bakery and has recently given a consultation to a local fruit and vegetable stand. With only a few months of experience under our belts as pro-bono financial consultants, we are more excited than ever to keep this program improving and gaining popularity in the area. 

Jack and Brock with Rosita in front of her store

Pablo and a friend, frequent recipients of MPI's business consulting services, in their store