Ecuador News | Manna Project International

VECINOS!!!!

February 3rd, 2012

Here is a photo tribute to our favorite neighbor Caesar:

Caesar is always watching out for us when we come home from the library at night, and enthusiastically greets us with a "veciiiiinos!" every time we see him.

He is always willing to lend us a hand transporting things to and from the centro in his pick up truck.

He was especially helpful during our Community Celebration (FDR) driving Charlie and Taylor around with a loudspeaker to do advertising. He also made several trips back and forth from the library to the plaza to help us bring supplies.

Although sometimes we take it for granted, it really is nice to have someone around who is looking out for us. Gracias Caesar!

Teen Center Paseo

January 31st, 2012

Last Saturday the Teen Center took its first paseo of the New Year to a natural rock-climbing wall near Sangolquí. The trip was lead by an Ecuadorian friend of ours, Joshua, who is a certified mountain guide. He supplied us with all of the necessary equipment, and talked to the teens about safety and proper climbing technique. The wall we used was a natural rock face with built in hooks for ropes that climbers have installed over the years. It was a beautiful place, hidden away behind farmhouses and right alongside a river. We got lucky with the weather and the typical afternoon rain-showers held off (for the most part) until all of the teens and adults had their chance to try out the wall.

We advertised for the trip during the Fiestas de Rumiloma last weekend, and received a lot of interest. Several kids wanted to come but couldn’t because of scheduling issues, and we look forward to seeing them at future Teen Center events. Six teens participated in the paseo, three Teen Center regulars and three of our new English students, as well as Walter, a friend and student of ours who has been helping us out with Teen Center events. Walter is an active participant in several Manna programs, and is always a pleasure to have around. It is especially nice to have him helping with the Teen Center, since he can joke around and relate to the kids in a way that is much harder for Charlie, Watkins and I.

The rock-climbing trip was something we have been planning for a while now, and we were all pleased with the outcome. We are trying to introduce the teens to more positive Ecuadorian role models, and expose them to opportunities they may not have otherwise. Only one of the teens had ever been rock-climbing before, but after they got over the initial fear everyone seemed to really enjoy it. Mishell, one of the new teens in my adult English class, was the only girl on the trip, and the first person to reach the top of the wall. We all had a great time joking around, and cheering one another on. It was fun for me to hang out with some of my new English students outside of the classroom setting, even as they pestered me to translate inappropriate rap lyrics. The paseo was overall a great success, and we look forward to planning and executing the next one.

Carlitos (Profe Charlie) giving it a shot

Joshua and I belaying

Mishell, almost at the top

Johan getting started

Steven (TC regular) crawled up the wall like a spider

FDR

January 24th, 2012

This past Saturday saw the culmination of much planning,advertising, and preparation undertaken over the last several weeks by ourPDs. The fruit of our labor wasthe successful Fiesta de Rumiloma (or FDR), a community-wide celebration now inits second year.

The festival’s purpose is to promote Manna Project, theclasses and services we offer, to promote other local organizations that dogood work in our community, and to bring residents together for a goodtime. Other organizations thatattended the festival included the Red Cross Ecuador, Antorcha de Vida (anonprofit that provides opportunities and services to handicapped children),Fundación Añamisi (an organic farming cooperative and produce vender), La CasaVictoria (an Ecuadorian organization similar to ours but operating in Quito),Protección de Animales Ecuador (or PAE, an organization offering freeveterinary services), and several local firefighters who put on an emergencymedical response demonstration with the Red Cross.

About his organization’s participation in the festival,Christian Añamisi of Fundación Añamisi said, “It was nice to have theopportunity to actually show our produce to potential customers,” and addedthat he hoped the event would continue in future years.

The Fiesta was held at the Plaza de Rumiloma, a grassy spacein front of a church near our Centro, and in the neighborhoodof many people we serve. Among thehighlights of the activities were the very popular “saltarín” kids’ bouncehouse, spirited games of musical chairs and three-legged races, and thepresence of our friend and MC, Christian Guachamin.

We thank all of the people and organizations who attended,as well as the weather gods who waited until three o’clock to release the rainand lightning, and we look forward to continue working with our community thisweek as our programs begin anew.

The MC and life of the party! Muchas gracias Christian...

A new word for our Spanish vocabulary: "el saltarín" - kids' bounce house

Tug o' War: a game that is simple, timeless, and cross-culturally attractive

Not an actual emergency: the Red Cross and local firefighters demonstrate the procedure for responding to car accidents

From left to right: Nicole, Heather, Emily, and Taylor

Solo Para Mujeres!

January 17th, 2012

Last Saturday the Women’s Exercise program held our first of hopefully many “women only” parties. The idea was to get to know more women from the community, share health information that they may not have access to otherwise, promote our nutrition and exercise program, and introduce more people to the centro. The party was a lot of fun, and a big success with 12 women and teenagers from the community attending, as well as all of the MPI girls. We took advantage of the opportunity to show off our new mirrors which we were finally able to purchase thanks to a generous donation of $200 annually that was designated to our Women’s Exercise program.

We started off the party in the kitchen, handing out recipes and working together to make healthy snacks. We listened to music and chatted while preparing the food and allowing latecomers to trickle in. While the women ate, Emily and I gave a charla on the healthy way to lose weight, tackling the nutrition and healthy diet aspect as well as the importance of exercise. In order to promote our exercise program, we put on music and each gave a 3-4 minute demonstration of our various workout classes. Some of the women who have been to our classes before joined in on the demos while the others watched, cheered us on, and took videos.

After the demos, dripping with sweat, we discussed our plans for the next few months, which include a 5k race in March and a potential 4-week bootcamp to help prepare for it. The women were really interested in our ideas, and gave tons of valuable feedback and suggestions. We listened to questions and comments, and then ended the party by handing out health related articles that pertain specifically to Ecuador. Everyone seemed pleased with the get-together and thankful for the information. We had a great time hosting, and are looking forward to our next fiesta solo para mujeres!

Discussing the importance of healthy diet and exercise

Gigi and Paola joining in on the Zumba demo

Taylor leading the class

Nicole discussing proper weight-lifting form

Weight class demo