Vandy Microfinance 2013
Sunday, March 10th
What a fantastic week we’ve had! Leaving Sangloqui will be a
bittersweet departure as we reflect on our work and the impact we made this
week with our partner organizations and the greater Sangloqui community. Not only have we been so lucky to have the
opportunity to understand microfinance in a direct way, but we have also made
new friendships that we will surely cherish upon our return to Vanderbilt.
Yesterday, we took our second trip to Jatumpungo, the
community where our loan recipients live.
Our group of fourteen divided into two groups to go and help them out in
their gardens. My group met Rosa Maria,
who had a flourishing cornfield and cucumber plants growing. We dug up her fertilized soil to expedite her
planting process and attached rods to her cucumber plants so that they grew
properly. Rosa Maria was so kind and
gave us a fruit none of us had ever tried before. It was delicious! It tasted a
lot like a plum. When we got back to
Sangloqui, John watched Hugo Chavez’s memorial with Ecuadorians in the café
next to our hostel, which he found to be a special cultural experience. That night, we went out to dinner at a cool
restaurant in Sangloqui called Lycazte.
It was very enjoyable, and William and Peter may or may not have left
with some souvenirs…! After dinner, we played cards at the Manna House and
continued our fun bonding time back on the roof at our hostel. We shared silly stories about our childhood,
such as Kari’s interesting time at the movies, John and William’s “True
Gentleman” recitation abilities, and what happens to Julia’s friends when she
gets impatient. This was the last night sleeping at our hostel, which has been very
comfortable and we will certainly miss it!
Today, the group went to the Manna Library for English classes,
arts and crafts with the children, and a fun zumba lesson taught by Lucy.
Adriana and Emily taught a beginner English class where the students learned
vocabulary words for different animals and parts of a household! In the “teen center” room, the rest of us
buckled down and got to work on our lesson plan for the next small business
class that Lucy and Polly will teach our potential loan recipients. We crafted a workbook with seven sections:
Business Planning, Goal Setting, Profit, Supply and Demand, Inventory Tracking,
Business Expansion, and Specialization.
Each section of the workbook provides streamlined definitions of the
concepts, appropriate examples, and practice problems for the students to
complete at home as a reinforcement of the course material. Creating this lesson plan and workbook is
something that our group is extremely proud of because we know that it will be
beneficial to the future of the microfinance program that Manna runs and will provide
valuable information to our loan recipients in a straightforward and engaging
manner.
So, this is our goodbye! We’d like to thank ALL of the
phenomenal Program Directors (especially Lucy and Polly!) for everything this
week. It has been an amazing experience
that none of us will forget. While we
were only in Ecuador for a short week, our group has been so inspired by our
experiences here that we have decided to join the Microfinance club back at
Vanderbilt and fundraise even further for MPI Ecuador’s loan cycle program. Thanks for reading our blog!
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Saturday, March 9th
Since Tuesday the group has seen
and experienced much more of the Ecuadorian culture and continues to grow
closer. That afternoon we went to an after-school program called Amigos Guias.
We helped the kids with their homework until snack time. Then everyone ran
outside to play on the playground or kick around a soccer ball. That night
after some cold showers at the hostel and dinner at the Manna House our group
sat down to watch Superbad, although most dozed off in between laughs.
Wednesday
morning the group took a bus to Jatumpungo and split up between two farms to
help some of the loan recipients with work around their property. Some shoveled
fertilizer while trying to keep the released ammonia from their lungs all
morning, while others helped plant vegetables in a backyard greenhouse. Next,
we took a long bus ride into the city of Quito to go shopping around the
markets. The best purchases were Adrianna’s leather backpack, John’s glow in
the dark Ray Bans, and Ryan’s soccer scarf. Meredith turned out to be a poor
haggler.
A long cab ride up the mountains
brought us to a massive statue of the Virgin Mary to look out over the city and
take some pictures. Charlotte’s selfies were the group’s entertainment. We ate
a buffet dinner at a Mongolian restaurant before heading to go salsa dancing
downtown. On the way, Cross’s phone got stolen by some dumb pick-pockets, but
we didn’t let it bring down to the group’s morale. Fix tried to chase after
them but luckily didn’t find them and/or get stabbed. At the club, Katie
demonstrated her salsa skills with a native Ecuadorian man while a crowd
gathered around. He was a solid 7/10. Party Pete made a new friend, and
Charlotte was so sleepy she slept the whole way home!
The next morning everyone woke up
early to the sound of drilling on the roof outside the hostel windows. We drove
back to the gardening community center to help mix fertilizer again and help
build a wall by moving bricks. We spent the afternoon at the Library sitting in
on English classes, playing with the kids, and filming our own version of the
Harlem Shake. Two unnamed group members did jumping jacks with backpacks on
their heads. For dinner, Polly made us a wonderful pesto pasta. While Kari,
Fix, and Pete went to play soccer with some locals, the rest of us played
catchphrase and watched How I Met Your Mother.
Fun Facts: the sour cream and onion
chips from the hostel are surprisingly yummy, Ecuadorian ninas can’t understand
why Emily doesn’t have blonde hair, Jefferson was a beta, Julia panics during
catchphrase, Madeleine likes talking, anddddd one of us kissed a person of the
opposite gender with only one hand when they were in high school. Proud of my
team.
Much
Love,
McLovin
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Our first few days in Ecuador have been great! This is the first time to South America for most of our group members, so we are so excited to explore and serve a new country. We arrived late Sunday night and were met at the airport by Polly and Lucy, our fearless Program Director leaders for the week. We crammed fourteen of us into a little camioneta, something that we would soon realize is typical of our
transportation everywhere we go, and made our way past the interesting statues of Sangolqui to the hostel. After meeting the other program directors and the other Vanderbilt group and getting acquainted with the Manna house, we went to bed excited to see what the week would hold.
We spent the first full day getting to know each other and the country by hiking Rio Pita. The first part of the hike was straight uphill and very challenging for the group, especially because we are not acclimated to the higher altitude. However, the view at the top made the uphill hike incredibly worth it! We posed for pictures and admired the unique Ecuadorian landscape before heading on our way to the
waterfall. William and John were brave enough to slide down part of the waterfall into the freezing water! We ended the day by partaking in a Manna house favorite, Catch Phrase. We quickly realized that this game is very competitive, so we challenged the other Vanderbilt group to a game (which our group won!). The first day was filled with exploration and group bonding, making us even more excited for the rest of the week. Today we worked in the gardens at Vivero. The boys did some heavy lifting while the girls helped make planters for the gardens. The flowers from this garden go to all of the schools and parks in Sangloqui. We are excited to return to this site on Thursday.
Overall, we are so thrilled to be here! We are excited to serve the people in Ecuador in every way that we can, and I know that we will grow and learn so much this week. We are especially looking forward to helping with the microfinance program tomorrow, since that is the main purpose of our trip. We are so thankful to learn more about Manna and microfinance, to get to know each other, and to serve and love the people of Ecuador!
-Katie Moran
SPRING BREAK!
Spring Break is here! Which for MPI-Ecuador means 2 great volunteer groups from Vanderbilt University and 24 extra mouths to feed. Check out their blogs throughout the week as they post about their experience volunteering in our Community Center and with our Microfinance Program.
Click on the Vandy Microfinance 2013 tab to read the latest from the group!
Click on the Vandy Microfinance 2013 tab to read the latest from the group!
PD Interview: Jenni
So Jenni really took this to heart...
Full Name: Jenni Nicole Adams
Home Town: Denver, Colorado
College and Major: Clark University, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
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| Jenni in the middle with Lucy and Madeleine |
1. What programs do you run?
Children's English (I teach Advanced), Children's Nutrition, Preventative Health Center (this includes teaching Nutrition for the Sangolqui Association for Diabetes and Hypertension), Teen Center, and Women's Exercise (I teach Yoga).
2. If you had to pick one, which is your favorite and why?
This question is too difficult! I love all of the programs, but especially the health related programs. Kids nutrition is taught at a nearby public school and while teaching over 100 6th graders is challenging it is the most rewarding of all my programs. Teaching yoga is amazing because of the dedicated students that come to every class and I can immediately see how the class has impacted them by their relaxed, smiling, faces after practicing. Lastly, PHC is an incredible program because it is extremely broad and has so much potential. I am able to shadow Doctors through this program and help elderly women with Diabetes learn about nutrition. It gives me incredible opportunities to see public health in action.
3. How did you hear about Manna and what made you want to join?
My sophomore year of college I wanted to spend a couple months out of my summer volunteering in South America in order to learn more about public and international health as well as improve my Spanish. Over winter break I was out to lunch with my best friend and her family and was telling them about my hopes of finding this sort of opportunity. Lucky for me, a former Ecuador PD, Abbie Foust, was there and told me all about Manna. I applied to be a summer volunteer in Ecuador, and after my summer experience could not wait to apply to be a PD!
4. Is there something from your experience so far that has caught you off guard?
I never thought I would be growing so much personally through this experience. From feeling like a stranger in a place that is my home to learning how to live and work with a group of people I didn't know before coming here, I have learned so much about courage, communication, compassion, and other very important life skills I never expected to learn.
5. What's your favorite place in Sangolquî?
There is a park across from the Sangolqui hospital and at the far left part of the park is a Pine Tree grove and a little dirt path. Whenever I walk through it reminds me of home. That place and of course the Sangolqui center (with an ice cream cone in hand).
6. What is your favorite meal to cook for dinner?
Anything delicious and vegetarian. If it has beans, chickpeas, quinoa, lentils, or veggies and a lot of spices, I love it.
7. Who's your favorite band?
I can not possibly name a single group. I like almost all kinds of music (minus Country) and have a soft spot for female vocalists. Some consistent favorites are Iron and Wine, Sufjan Stevens, Grimes, and Rilo Kiley. Also while living here I have developed an embarrassing love for Reggaeton, especially Daddy Yankee.
8. What it your most cherished experience so far with our neighbor Cesâr?
One day Janine and I were going to a nearby health center and Cesar offered us a ride. The trip lasted about 2 hours and included us visiting a nearby military base and getting to see helicopters take off and land about 20 feet away. It was actually pretty cool.
9. Tell us how your really feel about our cat Gandalf?
I love him so much. I really, really, do. Its just so hard to love him though since he is a cat and doesn't care about my existence! It is SUCH a one-sided relationship. Also I do find him extremely annoying when he non-stop meow's at me until I feed him. I am also very bitter that he refuses sleep in my bed. Maybe this is too much information?
10. What do you think is the best thing you will take away from your experience with Manna?
As I mentioned before, I have learned so much about who I am as a person and grown from this experience. I have also gained an a perspective on life I never knew before - something that I think naturally happens from living in a new culture and in a new country. I feel like the one thing I will take away (and hope to take away) from Manna and be able to use the rest of my life is a greater sense of empathy and trying to fully understand the experiences of other people.
11. What impact do you hope to leave on Manna?
I hope my students have learned something - whether it is how to conjugate "to-be" in the past tense or what a whole grain is - and I hope that someday that knowledge may help them. I hope that I somehow helped someone by being a resource a friend, or just a "profe". Overall, I hope that by me being here I have helped improved a community member's life, even if it is in a small way and only for a few people.
12. Do you think the recent re-election of Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa is a good thing for the country? Do you think he is just another example of the long tradition of machismo, political bosses that have ran South America over the last century? Will he step down after this six-year term like he says he claims he will?
This interview is full of hard questions! I think Correa's re-election can possibly be a good thing for the country. I think he has brought the stability that Ecuador needed for its current increased economic growth and quality of life. I support how much he spends on social programs, and how it now costs less to receive medical care or go to college. However, I do have some large concerns, especially considering his changing of the constitution and almost complete political control. I hope the assembly disagrees with him more so that he will not be able to take another term (because I think he will try to). I also worry about to expanding Oil industry in Ecuador and his support of this industry. I am worried it will be done in a way in which the poorer communities where oil is obtained will be exploited and suffer the consequences (as what happened with the Chevron lawsuit) while the capital and richer communities will reap the rewards. Just a couple thoughts....
13. Why do you think no one replied to our request for questions to ask you?
Because no one reads the blog. Just kidding Pete and Jeff! I read it!
Lunch with Nancy
Our lovely host Nancy dishing out sweets.
It can be easy to get bogged down with work and everyday routines. We have so much going on constantly throughout the week that come weekends we can be quite exhausted. Our schedules change; the people we work with and places where we work too.
However, one of the most rewarding experiences we encounter is spending an afternoon at a community members house. Building relations with members of the community is definitely the group's forte and one of the most enjoyed and interesting experiences. The language and cultural exchange is comfortable and casual over home cooked meals, and occasionally, some karaoke in the living room.
This past Sunday the group visited our friend Nancy's home for a afternoon lunch, leaving with bellies full of food and laughter. Nancy's three daughters and son greeted us graciously as her massive mutt Jack (think of Stephen King's Kujo, seriously) into their home complete with a tour of her terraced gardens and small nursery. We played soccer and tossed the football to work up our appetite.
Nancy operates a small foundation near our house in Sangolqui. Along with several other women, she has established Antorcha de Vida as a small but vital institution that offers therapeutic recreation and learning services for children in the area with special needs. Jefferson and myself have been working in the gardens at Antorcha; keeping their garden beds clear of weeds, planting new seeds, and of course getting to know all the friendly folk that comprise the staff. Madeleine also has been a huge help for them, assisting in horse therapy sessions and in the classroom doing other therapeutic exercises.
With only one true singer in group (Joey), we cleared our plates and then our throats for some karaoke. Joey broke the ice with some Allman Bros., passing the microphones to Jefferson and myself who did an groundbreaking rendition of the Weather Girls' "It's Raining Men". Passing the microphone around for an hour or so we had a great time but realized that maybe we should leave the singing to the showers.
This is a perfect example of what being a Program Director is all about; setting our tracks down in the community, using social relationships as the vehicle to learn, understand, and explore a culture that is foreign to us, just as our culture is foreign to them. The term "foot soldier" comes to mind quite often as we are the eyes and ears of the organization. Activities spent on beautiful afternoons such as the lunch at Nancy's house are a fresh reminder of what we really do here in Ecuador and how fortunate we are to be partaking in such an unique experience.
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If you or someone you know wants to learn more about the Program Director experience, please visit the MPI website:
http://mannaproject.org/ecuador
Also - we are still accepting applications for 2013-14 PDs. Again, if you know someone who would be interested in such an experience as this, please have them visit the following link:
http://mannaproject.org/long-term
Thank you for checking in and as always all the best,
Pete