Only Dead Fish Go With the Flow: My Volunteer Work

Since February, I have been going twice a week to a rural community south of Quito to teach young children basic English and math. I had been looking for some kind of volunteer work for a long time and when this opportunity presented itself, I was in 100%. I originally got involved through two friends of Alex, who were actually looking for two more volunteers, so I guess you could say that we "got the job".

To give a little bit of background of the community and the children we help; as I said, it is south of the city and more rural. When I say rural I don't mean fields and farms, they live on a ridge-line which divides Quito from a neighboring valley (where Alex lives). It is on a very steep slope, only accessed by a dirt road which switchbacks down the muddy hill. The houses are basic, very basic, made of cement blocks and metal roofs. Although I have never been inside one of our students' houses, they all appear to be about two or three rooms, few or no windows and no plumbing or electricity. Some of the houses do have running water and few of the buildings have lights, but the problem is that the community is actually illegal. The government never approved any kind of building therefore they people cannot use publics utilities such as water and electricity.

The community have demonstrated in the city, in the hope of gaining some rights, I believe that they have been recognized as an independent sector, however they still have a legal battle ahead of them for utilities.

Now to the actual teaching. Our students range in age from about 5 to 11. Their attendance is actually really good, on any given day 20-30 students show up. Due to the numbers, we split the group in two according to age. The goal of our program is to have the oldest students, who are about to go into their first year of secondary school, enter classes with a basic knowledge of English and arithmetic so that they do not fall behind peers who might have had a more fortunate upbringing and education.

The younger group, who obviously have a much shorter attention span, do some english and number work, usually end up doing more art such as drawing and coloring, materials permitting of course.

Alex and I teach the older group a lot more often, as the girls have more patience for the little ones. You give them an inch and they take a mile, it is testing to say the least.

We are there for two hours, 3 until 5. Our classes are usually about an hour and fifteen minutes, then we have a break, then snack time. Finally Netalie, the man who organized all of this, gives the children a brief lesson on general ethics. This includes lying, stealing and fighting, which all happens A LOT amongst these kids.

One of the best parts of each class is the time we have for recess. Depending on the weather we play football (inside or outside), play on the donated swings or try and balance on the concrete pipes which somehow found their way onto the playground. These kids play rough, but they are tough as nails. I have seen them fall, get kicked, or hit with swings so many times. I always wince, and run over anticipating tears and cuts, but 99% of the time, they get up laughing their heads off and continue playing. It is quite something. One of their favorite things is to have Alex or I grab them by the wrists and swing them around in circles until we are all very dizzy.

Classes are productive and worth the effort, however, there are a lot of frustrations. One of our biggest problems is the fact the some of the kids are simply uninterested in learning. They come to class wither because they are forced by their parents, or they just want to hang out with their friends, or both. This seems mostly to be the boys, but not exclusively. These kids distract others from learning and will do anything to get someone else to laugh. This proves to be a real problem with few effective solutions.

Another major challenge is our make-shift classroom. It is a sort of "community building" made of concrete blocks, tile floor and a very low, concrete ceiling. There are a few windows to let light in (neither of the two bare light-bulbs seem to have a working connection). When two or three people are in the room talking, there are no problems. However, add 20 shouting children to the original three people and the echoes are literally unbearable. One can hardly hear them self think above the din. Alex came up with a good way of silencing the students. when he claps a 5 beat rhythm, all the students have to stop talking and copy the pattern. It works well most of the time, but if the noise gets too loud, no one hears and the clapping just adds to the problem.

Lastly, our materials, or lack there of. We have a large whiteboard, a few coloring books for the small children and some educational wall decorations. Seeing the bare concrete walls of our "classroom" makes me sad, I remember how full of colors and pictures my primary school classrooms were. I remember how abundant the crayons and pencils were, and I remember having more books and paper than my 6 year old mind knew what to do with.

This is where you can help. I put a note in the bottom of my last post, asking for any suitable, basic teaching materials, to be sent or dropped off to my parents house. I will be going back to the US for an interview on thursday and plan to return here to Quito with lots of teaching materials. To see a photo of an Ecuadorian child, smiling, learning, and using something that you donated would be more than amazing. I urge anyone who can to donate and help children who really need and will appreciate new or used learning materials. For those of you in the UK, your packages will not arrive in time for me to take them myself. However, Mum, Dad, and Hamish will be coming out to visit me in June and I am sure they could bring any and all donations.

I thank you all in advance for your generosity and I will be sure to keep you all informed as to how are classes are going thought he following months!