Teenage Kicks

As part of our goals for the teen center Shawn, Mike, and Erik have been holding monthly events outside of regular teen center hours. This month's event was a party, organized and mostly run by the teens themselves. The party was highly successful, but as we debriefed afterward and found that most of the attendees were male, ideas came up about trying to have afternoon or earlier events for those teens with early curfews.

Here's a short recap from Mike about the event!

"This past Saturday, we had our second teen center party. Much like the first, the teens planned and prepared all aspects of the party- invitations, DJ, music equipment, cover charge, and advertising. An addition to this party was a rifa, or raffle, in which we provided a ticket to every person who paid to enter the party. The hard work of the teens paid off, as we had more than 30 people come and pay, as well as a number of new people to the Teen Center. Special thanks go out to Christian, for getting the music equipment; Dario, for helping Erik with the rifa; and Pammy, for keeping everybody in line. "

The 'auditorium' all set up for the party (pictures courtesy of Christian)

Mike and Pammy pause for a photo

Christian and Grace jam out to the DJ

Other teen goings on include an after school homework help (apoyo escolar) for math and reading run by two of our most active teens, Christian and Pammy. As library attendance drooped this month, parents informed us that their kids need to focus on school and that we don't offer enough scholarly activities outside of English class. Simultaneously a couple of teens wanted to get more involved in the centro, and so far these study sessions have been going really well. Eventually, we'd like to try and fuse some of our teen trips and kid's paseos together to encourage interaction and give the kids some good role models outside of the library.

youthfully yours,
Jackie

Vanderbilt SB Recap

Two weeks ago we were hosts to our first Spring Break groups of the year. While Erik and Chet were busy leading Duke around in Lumbisi, Mike and I were keeping track of the Vanderbilt group. Our week was packed with morning activities in Quito, afternoons in the Centro, and an overnight trip to Mindo. Our group was able to accomplish a lot in their short week here, including painting the big room upstairs (the "auditorium," if your name is Chet), fixing up the garden for the Alinambi nutrition program, leading Women's Exercise, and getting to participate in all of the other educational programs that we offer. Here is a brief recap in pictures (courtesy of the Vanderbilt girls)...

Most of the group outside of the Guayasamin museum in Quito

Painting the big room a nice shade of celeste (contrary to photographic evidence, the room is NOT lavender.)

Allegra reading to kids in the library

Working in the garden at Alinambi

Helping out with Children's English

The whole group in Plaza Grande

Thanks for checking in!
Sarah

Condor Truths

Although we may be miles away from a typical St. Patrick's Day celebration, I assure you we celebrated in style with green eggs and clothing, an Irish meal of Shepard's pie and soda bread, and of course a viewing of Boondock Saints. Mister Irish himself (Chet) spent last week in Lumbisi with one of our spring break volunteer groups teaching classes, painting murals and planting a vegetable garden. Since we only got to spend a night with the feisty North Carolinians, which mostly consisted of embarrassingly revealing questions deemed 'condor truths,' I'll let Chet explain a day in the life with the Duke spring breakers...

"The Duke spring break group accomplished some great manual and artistic labors in the week we were in Lumbisi. Like all things Erik and I do, we accomplished it with brutal honesty, a fun-loving attitude, and a little bit of insanity. It is important to remember that Lumbisi has a biting fly problem; and I mean like a Jean Paul Satre-style "The Flies" biting fly problem. While Erik and I spent the week living in the FEVI office, we ate all our meals at home stay. This was the same home stay where Sarita, one of FEVI's long term volunteers from the US also ate. Wednesday night, Bibi was in the area and had dinner with us and everyone at the table was involved in a very engaging debate between James Joyce and Jorge Luis Borges. Remember, James Joyce wrote Ulysses, arguably the best novel of the 20th century and in my opinion the gold standard in the modernist literature. Borges was a writer from Argentina. Given the distinct advantage Joyce has in this comparison. I'm a bit abashed to admit that it was more or less a tie.

Thursday was our last day to complete our work projects. In the morning we all went up the to ecological forest reserve to collect straw for the garden we had been working in. To settle the dinner debate, in the afternoon we split up into two groups to see who could finish first: one with me to finish the murals we had been painting on the outside of the pre-school, and the other down in the gardens with Erik to finish up the work on the new beds. The beds were all dug and just needed to be layered with straw, fertilizer, and filled with dirt; however, there was one large rock in the corner of bed 2 we had been unable to remove.

About an hour and a half into our work projects for the afternoon, I look to my left and see Erik, with a stride of pride, enter the fence to the preschool with a huge rock in his hands. He draws near me and asks, 'Hey Chet, if you were going to name a rock after an author, what would it be?' I of course look at him like he is crazy. He then informs me that after an hour and a half, they had finally removed the gigantic rock in the corner of bed two and I was staring at a small piece of it. He then informed me “this is Borges” spiked the rock, and walked out of the yard in triumph. My comment was for him to bring the bug spray the next time he came back. This is why we work so well together and why, while the Duke spring break volunteers probably think we are crazy, we got a lot of work done in three and a half days and had a great time doing it.

Alberto, Erik and JJ dominating said rock

The whole group sight seeing in the centro historico

Maria puts some finishing touches on the wall mural

KP plays with some kids in Lumbisi

The group leaders, and their respective cuy heads, share a moment

Erik would like to set (sic) that 'we still beat ya’ll.'

-Chet"

I Feel Just like a Child

Last Saturday while half of the PDs were showing spring breakers around historical Quito, the rest of us were field-tripping to Quito's interactive science museum. One of the goals of our agriculture and environmental program is to take kids outside of the four walls of the library for science-based paseos (field trips). We do this to expose the kids to nature, help them understand and appreciate the incredible amenities that exist in Ecuador, and to foster creativity and active learning.

Our first trip was a great success, chock full of 10 energetic minds ranging from 6 to 12 years old. The museum hosts three distinct exhibits - the sala de guaguas, the physics hall, and the Quito 2025 exhibit. The guaguas space is especially designed for younger kids, allowing them to hike through the paramo grasses, balance atop plates tectonics, follow life on the farm from soil to almuerzo plate, and dress up as their favorite Andean animals. The physics hall excited the kids with interactive acoustic and mechanics demonstrations as well as a myriad of mind games to challenge their critical-thinking skills. Kids and PDs alike we're enchanted by the space-age cocoon showing how our city will look in 2025 - including the current airport converted into a wildlife park and an enhanced public transportation system.

Leslie flies high to experience life as a Condor


Daniella balances without sight to test her other senses


Vinicio shoots down the paramo slide into the lagoon ball pit below


Some of the kids watching their shadows in the dark room (sorry the flash messed up the picture!)



Krysta and the kids learn how to separate the intertwined metal puzzle


Helping Henry levitate his ball into the top hole

Sonia, Krysta, and Shawn and Jenny with the kids

As we rounded the corner on the bus back to Rumiloma, PDs were exhausted but the kids we're ready for more, asking over and over when the next paseo would be. We're really excited to continue spending time with these kids outside of the library and hope to make next month's destination a naturalist hike through Pasochoa reserve. A special big thanks to Shawn, Sonia, and Krysta for being such fantastic chaperones!

cheers,
Jackie

You Are What You Eat

This week's guest blog comes from Krysta Peterson, our house walking human dictionary who has a tendency to make up words and mash-up sentences. More importantly, she is our nutrition enthusiast who has been working with a local school, Aliñambi, since August, on starting up a nutrition education program. After months of hard work, she now helps run an inclusive nutrition program. This program focuses on educating students through hands-on learning with an overall goal to raise students' self-efficacy in food consumption and decision making. Here's a glimpse into working with these enthusiastic sixth graders twice a week!

Charlas! Portfolios! Cooking Classes! School Garden! Oh my! If you think those sound fun, just imagine the excitement and enthusiasm coming from our 6^th graders each week as we walk in the gates at Aliñambi to do just that. After 7 months working with Aliñambi and nutrition with little physical evidence, I am thoroughly ecstatic, to say the least, about starting this nutrition program with the kids there. I believe through these kids is where we will be able to really initiate a change towards healthy lifestyles for these communities.

Along with Profes Haley and Jackie we will be teaching nutrition through charlas (lectures), thought provoking portfolio work, and hands-on cooking classes and a class garden. Every Tuesday I will be leading the class through charlas and portfolio work based on topics from the food pyramid to macro and micronutrients to hygiene. And every Friday Chef Haley and Sous Chef Krysta will be leading the culinary trainees with watchful eyes as they learn to wash and cut vegetables and make healthy meals using all local goods. Farmer Jackie and Farmhand Bibi will be leading the apprentices in designing and building their own garden to include radishes, lettuce, broccoli, cilantro, and basil…can anyone else see delicious salads in our future?! Yum!

Today we finished our second full week of class and despite a few punishments after a dirt-throwing jaunt everything has been going great. I truly believe in these kids’ ability to succeed in this program and their capacity to realize they have control over their nutritional lives and can promote permanent change at home.

Last week we didn’t realize we were not allowed to take photos at the school, so these are a few and probably the only pictures we will have for evidence that this program actually took place. Enjoy them while they’re hot!

Krysta, Erik, Chet, Mike and Sarah lending a helping hand in the huerto (which was all grass before we started)

Two hours later...

Krysta and some of our Aliñambi students

amor + nutrition,

Krysta