LFA Humanitarian Trip to Ecuador
Andree Coschizza ‘16 talks about the school's Ecuador trip last spring. Everyone dreams of that one big adventure, that one trip of a lifetime that completely changes your life and alters the way you view the world.
That is the reason why one lunchtime in early January, nine girls gathered in the Spanish room to discuss a possible volunteer trip to Ecuador.
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Originally suggested by Kimi Wong ‘15, this trip would involve several key ideas: to learn the culture and beliefs of the native people of Ecuador; to volunteer with education and agricultural projects; and to experience all the natural beauty that Ecuador has to offer.
Entertaining the possibility of such a trip seemed like an impossible dream, so when the plan finally began to take shape, we became more and more excited. Along with Spanish teacher, Señora Espinel, and P.E. teacher, Ross Ballard, we boarded our flight on March 19th, enthused by all the possibilities that awaited us a continent away.
We first arrived in the city of Cayambe, which is a fairly populated city, with most houses having electricity and running water. However, as we moved into the mountains towards the rural town of Cariacu, there was a sharp contrast between the city we had just left, and the town we were about to enter.
Arriving in the village of Cariacu, we were greeted by a land caught in contrast between tradition and the 21st century. While it was common enough to see motorcycles and trucks bumping along the main dirt road, it was also more than common to see local people herding cows or walking along with milk pails. A completely normal sight to them, it seemed weirdly absurd for us to see small quinoa farms immediately beside apartment buildings.
We were lucky enough to be staying in Cariacu on March 21st, the Spring Equinox, which is a very important date in many native cultures. On that day, there was a huge festival with lots of dancing, and our hosts, Gabrielle and Isabellita, even sang an entire set at the end of the festivities. The celebration of the Spring Equinox not only has special cultural meaning but also has very specific significance to Ecuador in particular. Because of its location at the equator, the sun is exactly right above the country at noon on the Spring Equinox, meaning that when we looked down, we couldn’t see our shadows.
However, one of the most rewarding experiences was helping teach English at the local high school. Though they spoke very little English, and we spoke even less Spanish, we spoke mostly with dictionaries, hand gestures, and lots of laughter. We got to know the kids at the high school very well, and by communicating with them, began to see how different their life was - like growing up in a village where the main income comes from the production of milk. Every day, these kids, who were only a few years younger than us, would wake up at 4 in the morning to milk the cows, head to school, and return again after school to milk the cows once more. This didn’t seem too different from us doing regular chores at home (except for that it took much, much longer), but what really hit home for us was when we met a 13-year-old boy named Christian.
He worked at a little corner store that his parents owned, in addition to helping milk cows twice a day. He didn’t seem too different from the other kids we had met, until the last day when we went to the high school to say goodbye, and he wasn’t there. We stopped at the corner store on the way back, and when we found him there working, we asked why he hadn’t gone to school that day. With Señora Espinel
translating, he explained that his parents had to go out on a community project, and he had to stay home in order to look after the shop and take care of his 4-year-old sister. The way he explained it seemed so normal to him, but for us it was quite significant that he had had to miss school in order take care of his sister, particularly when he was only 13 years old himself. This may not have been the most shocking time in which he had had to work instead of attending school, but for us we couldn’t believe that staying at home to look after the shop was a normal experience for him, especially when we take school so seriously.
translating, he explained that his parents had to go out on a community project, and he had to stay home in order to look after the shop and take care of his 4-year-old sister. The way he explained it seemed so normal to him, but for us it was quite significant that he had had to miss school in order take care of his sister, particularly when he was only 13 years old himself. This may not have been the most shocking time in which he had had to work instead of attending school, but for us we couldn’t believe that staying at home to look after the shop was a normal experience for him, especially when we take school so seriously.
Another incredibly striking thing to us about this experience was the sense of community we found in the town where we stayed. As explained by one of our hosts, Gabrielle, people in the village pay taxes but rarely get the opportunity to see that money put into action in their community. As a result, people must often make do with what they have in order to make road improvements, as well as ensure safe drinking water. In one instance, in order to repair their roads, each person in one community donated some money to a company in order to buy a rock crusher. The man in charge of this project explained that this one piece of machinery could fix so much about their town. By buying this machine, they would be able to make cement for not only their community but also to sell back to the government in order to make extra money. More examples were the multiple community projects we saw while we were there, including a water treatment plant. Built mainly by volunteers from the community who would sign up for different hours, this plant was built in a valley below an aqueduct, where the workers dug deep trenches in order to bring the water to the plant. It was interesting to see because even the mayor came out all day to help build the water treatment plant. In Canada, we normally see government officials as figures who stay inside city hall and do office work, but in this community, they not only helped run the community but also physically worked in order to make the community a better place.
After about 15 days in Ecuador and 10 days volunteering, we were all fairly excited to come home, though we all agreed it was an extremely rewarding experience. In spite of sickness and poor weather, this journey taught us the importance of resourcefulness, of community, and of appreciation for the life we live.
Was this the adventure of a lifetime? I’m not too sure, but this was certainly a trip that changed my life for the better and widened my eyes to how big our world really is.
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Tel: 604-738-9016
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