An Earthquake Can´t Stop Us!

Ok, so an update on our day...

My roommate Mark got up early this morning and had a freezing cold shower. I got up a few minutes later and had a steaming hot shower. Gotta love life in Ecuador! Neither one of us felt the earthquake but our rep from Manitoba did. He stood in his doorway for a few seconds then decided he´d go get breakfast instead. Yep...that´s our Danny!

We met another great bunch of staff at the ADP we visited not too far outside of Ambato. This small staff oversees a region of
seven communities and over 3000 children and teens. It was so great to really connect with these folks despite our language differences. It´s amazing just how far a smile, a few hand gestures, and some broken Spanglish can go. Our common commitment to helping the kids of this region really makes us all one big team.

One important program in this area is the issuing of ID cards to children in each community. Often the children in these rural areas have no birth certificate or any form of government ID. By registering with World Vision we are able to track their health and education progress as well as offer them protection from anyone trying to take advantage of a "non-existent" child.

As our bus arrived at the first stop of the day we were greeted by hundreds of kids and parents in front of (and on top of!) the community centre. After a formal welcome from one of the elders and a really well done play about the benefits of registering children, we were able to see the registration process in action. As the kids lined up our entire team started working like mad to make animal balloons for each child as they finished the process. It was definitely organized chaos but it was a blast to know these kids were going to be cared for and to see the smiles on their faces when they got their animals.



Unfortunately, we were on a tight schedule so it was on to the bus far too soon and we were off to our next destination...

For complete photos from the journey click here.

To sponsor a child in Ecuador visit WorldVision.ca

Earthquake? What Earthquake?

Apparently there was a 7.1 magnitude earthquake about 45 minutes ago centered just outside Ambato. I didn´t feel a thing and neither did most of the rest of us! Only three people said they felt their beds shaking. There is breaking news on the TV in our dining room. Andrea is translating for us...there was no damage anywhere. How does an earthquake more powerful than the one that devastated Haiti have no effect here? I don't get it but I sure am thankful.

Well, we´re off for the day. Catch ya´ later!

Downtown Ambato

Got back to the hotel in Ambato late tonight, had a completely unnecessary bite to eat, then went for a walk downtown with two other members of our team and the tireless and ever patient Andrea, our host, guide, and translator. Ambato was almost completely destroved in 1965 with the eruption of a close-by volcano and the accompanying earthquake. 20,000 people lost their lives and most of the downtown core had to be rebuilt. As a result, it is a really cool mix of colonial architecture and 1960´s\1970´s modernism. The scary thing for anyone who lives here is that seismologists say the volcano is guaranteed to blow again in no more than 50 years and that it could happen at any time. Andrea said if we had been here two weeks ago we would have heard the rumblings and seen smoke coming from the top of the mountain. Thankfully it seems to be feeling a little more mellow this week!

Although most of the tourist guidebooks say don´t bother visiting this city, I found it completly charming and safe, unlike Quito. We made our way past an enormous cathedral with the biggest doors I´ve ever seen, around the park at the city centre, then stopped in a pub for some great conversation. I love getting to know my coworkers without the pressure of meetings to attend and strategies to discuss. It´s a privilege for me to work with each and every one of them. If you have a couple of minutes to spare, pray for them for me.

Well, it´s been a great day and it´s been a great night. Can´t wait for my face to hit the pillow. Adios mes amigos!

Community Gardens

One of my favorite visits on this trip has been to a couple of World Vision sponsored community gardens. These gardens are part of a four month training program for women where they learn about crop rotation, irrigation, composting, how to grow more nutritious crops, and how to have a bigger yield. When they graduate the course, they are given seeds to take back to their own homes to plant a small farm to feed their own families. If there is any extra crop left over at harvest time, it can be sold at local markets for a small income.



Since vegetable gardening is near and dear to my heart I was thrilled to see these community gardens that would multiply outwards to the homes of countless families that would benefit from their new found source of food. We met more than one family who were so proud that their home gardens had allowed them to become self-sufficient.

You never know how big the yield unless you plant the seed.

For complete photos from the journey click here.

To sponsor a child in Ecuador visit WorldVision.ca

A Home Cooked Meal

In rural Ecuador most of the men have to leave their homes to work in the city in order to earn enough to (almost)afford the basics of life for their familes. As a result, the day-to-day life of the community and the working of the land is done almost exclusively by women. World Vision works with these women, identifying a ¨mother leader¨ who wants to help the rest of her community by bringing education and training on things such as proper hygene, cooking nutritious meals, using local ingedients, breast feeding, etc.

Today we had the opportunity to visit the home of the mother leader in this community for dinner with all of the women who were part of the program. They cooked an unbelievably delicious meal of pork, corn, potatoes, beans, cheese, and a fried dough patty that deserves to be on the menu of your favorite restaurant. For dessert we had a hot drink made with milk, rice and pumpkin that was really tasty but a bit hard to get down after such a big meal. In the midst of the chaos of moms and kids and dogs I walked away feeling absolutley blessed by these people. It´s a humbling experience knowing that these generous and gentle people have blessed you more in an hour than you could ever repay in a lifetime.

For complete photos from the journey click here.

To sponsor a child in Ecuador visit WorldVision.ca

Holy Moments

Today was another super-long super-packed day. I can't believe I brought a book to read during our down times. There hasn't been one yet!

We headed out this morning on a three hour bus ride from Quito to our Pillaro area development project (ADP) in the Ambato area. Yesterday we were at an ADP that was just entering the phase-out stage while today we were in an area where we've only been working for a couple of years. The local staff expressed many of the challenges they've faced in establishing themselves in the area and I´ve learned that one of the greatest difficulties in getting started in the apprehension of the people whom we are assisting. It takes a while to build up trust but once that is established with a few community leaders then it becomes much easier to work together. Just like yesterday, I was amazed to learn that there are 25 communities in this ADP which means we are helping to improve the lives of over 43,000 people!

I don't have a ton of details tonight, just one awesome highlight you need to know about. In the middle of a presentation by the local staff (did you know 97% of World Vision´s field staff are actually from the communities they are working in?), we had to take a break when two sponsored children and their mother visited the office to meet with Autumn, our rep from Alberta. She had the privilege of meeting with them on behalf of their sponsors in Canada, giving them greetings and gifts, and hearing exactly how being sponsored has changed their lives. As the rest of us waited in the adjacent office, a hush came over the room, in awe at what was happening. God was reaching down to provide for this beautiful young family through a Canadian donor who had choosen to change the life of a little girl they had never met, yet felt compelled to bless. This is grace. This is love. This was a holy moment. How could we be anything else but silent?

There are 1500 children registered in this region but only 880 are sponsored. After seeing the radiant face of the children´s mother today my heart breaks for the other 620 kids who need to know that same kind of love.

For complete photos from the journey click here.

To sponsor a child in Ecuador visit WorldVision.ca

Football and Farmers

We arrived in Cutambi later than expected but that didn't stop the entire community from gathering around our bus to greet us. Just like you see on TV, the kids squeezed their way through to the front of the crowd to wish us a very polite "buenos dias" before leading us into the building they use as a community centre. After some speeches and a display of some handcrafts the women of the community had created, we all moved out of the building to the centre of the village to make balloon animals and pass out other little treats to the children. It blew me away to see how patiently they all lined up to get their latex dogs and rabbits and bees! I could imagine a near riot if you had over 100 kids lined up like this at home.

As the rest of the team were making their animals (a talent for which I have no ability whatsoever), I made my way over to some kids playing soccer who very quickly made me the monkey in the middle as they managed to play keep-away until I thought my lungs would burst in the high altitude. Eventually some more kids came over as well as Mark, our rep in Atlantic Canada, and we had some fun kicking the ball around and trying to score on a little guy who just might play for the Ecuadorian national team some day - he was that good!



Once we managed to catch our breath, we shot a couple more videos displaying animals that had been given to the community (including a couple of hilarious ones that will make it to our blooper reel!), then we were led up a steep path to see a small family farm. It may have been a tiny patch of land but for the pride the farmer had in his work it might as well have been half of Saskatchewan. Although he was unable to read or write, he had gone to some World Vision workshops to learn basic farming techniques and also visited some other farms where he could share his new-found knowledge as well as learn from other farmers. He was especially proud of his composting skills that turned a poorly performing lemon tree into a big producer laden with fruit. It´s really important to let you know that in no way do the people who receive the gifts and training respond as if they were somehow inferior or inadequate. These are proud farmers who are partners in every way with the good work that is happening here. We stand eye-to-eye and shoulder-to-shoulder with these folks and share in the joy of their hard work. World Vision´s work here is nothing at all resembling a handout - it is a hand-up to a farmer and his family who want to improve their lives and the lives of their children. I'm incredibly grateful to God that I get to play a small part in making this happen.



Stay turned for tomorrow´s adventures in the Pillaro region...

For complete photos from the journey click here.

To sponsor a child in Ecuador visit WorldVision.ca

Above the Clouds

After leaving the World Vision office behind, we headed out for Muenala, a small community high in the Andes mountains. Along the way we stopped for lunch at a tiny restaurant on the edge of Cotacachi volcano. The crater of the volcano is actually filled with water now, turning it into a beautiful clear lake. As much as possible I´m trying to eat local food so I ordered the Plato Tipicos, a plate full of grilled pork, boiled corn, potatoes and local white cheese. A few of us decided to order cuy (guinea pig) to share but they had run out so we´ll have to wait for another day to try this Ecuadorian delicacy.

After lunch, it was off to Muenala, which was an absolutely remarkable experience. Our driver Franklin (aka coolest bus driver on the planet!) maneuvered us through some of the narrowest roads and steepest slopes I´ve ever seen. We climbed up to 3200 meters above sea level, literally looking down on the clouds, to meet with a small community of 150 indigenous people who had received 16 cows from Canadian donors through our gift catalogue. We were introduced to the community and then a gentleman stepped forward to thank us for visiting and for the cows they had recieved, allowing them to have fresh milk and cheese for their families. It was a remarkably humbling experience to be among these gentle people, to shake their hands, to look into their eyes and see the genuine gratitude there.

In addition to the cows, the village also recieved a pipeline up to a water storage tank that provides them with water to irrigate their crops. This high in the mountains water is extremely hard to come by in Ecuador. The soil is very dry and the constant wind is whipping up dust continually. When World Vision completed the pipeline the community was able to grow crops more easily to provide nutritious vegetables for their families. To stand side by side with these people, to see how tangibly their lives were improved by Canadians half a world away is an indescribable feelign that I wish each and every person could experience.

Before leaving the area for our next stop we shot a couple of thank you videos to share when we get back home, gave the children some gifts, and took photos of the children and their parents among the amazing scenery. Then it was off to our final stop for the day, down the winding roads to Cutambi.

For complete photos from the journey click here.

To sponsor a child in Ecuador visit WorldVision.ca

Incredible!

It´s been a long, jam-packed day and I have more stories than I could possibly share here tonight but I´ll do my best. Unfortunately I can´t upload photos from the hotel so for now you´ll just have to believe me when I say Ecuador is a remarkably beautiful country filled with remarkably beautiful people.

Our morning started on a bus taking us out of downtown Quito to visit an Area Development Project (ADP) about two hours away. The entire team was bouncing from one side of the bus to the other taking photos of the Andes mountains as they fenced us in on both sides while we travelled higher and higher up the switchbacks. After a quick pit stop where we manged to buy some water, dried banana, and (believe it or not), lemon remix doritos(!) we arrived at the Maquipurashum ADP not far from Otavalo. We were greeted by the director of the ADP and his small team of staff and volunteers with a warm handshake and a buenos dias. They immediately put us at ease and we all had a good time introducing ourselves via Andrea our translator.

After the introductions we were given an extensive history of the ADP from their beginnings in 1994 up to today. I had always thought an ADP consisted of a few villages with upwards of a thousand people being supported through World Vision´s work but in Maquipurashum there are 20 communities consisting of eight thousand families which means roughly 40,000 people are being impacted by the generous support of Canadians who sponsor children, purchase items from the Gift Catalogue, and participate in the 30 Hour Famine.

Our hosts explained how the community had determined what their strengths were and then set the priorities for the development of the region: education, health, agricultural production, and care for the environment. They have also put a big emphasis on gender equality as traditionally, women and girls have very few rights in the culture. A girls soccer league was started five years ago to empower the young girls of the area and encourage them to become fully fledged partcipants in the community. I also found it interesting (and sad) to learn that the soccer also gives children of both genders the opportunity to play...to just be a kid...something that is uncommon when most children must work from a very young age.

The success of the ADP thus far was evident on the faces of the leaders who explained that when they first began no one - not one single person - had finished high school. There are now more than 400 kids in high school and another 100 graduates with several of them moving on to college with the help of a scholarship from funds provided by World Vision. Another amazing fact: when the ADP started 90% of the children in the region were malnourished. That number has been reduced to 65% and is continuing to fall. There were several other positive outcomes shared, but a list of numbers can´t compare to the amazing privilege we had of meeting two formerly sponsored children who were now young adults, both of whom had gone to college and have returned with a degree in business management and finance.

Despite all of these positives, there are definitely still a great number of needs in this community. There is only one medical clinic for 40,000 people making regular health care next to impossible. As well, 36% of the population do not know how to read or write and the cost of education is beyond the reach of most of the parents who live here. Only 12% of the population has a safe water supply resulting in various illnesses and skin problems for the children who live here.

Just before we left for our next destination we were introduced to a class of students in the World Vision office who were learning computer skills, many of whom had never seen a computer before. The smiles on their faces told us exactly how much joy they were experiencing as hope was returning and a more positive future could start to be envisioned. I have nothing but the highest praise for the dedicated, caring workers here. Their tireless love for the children and families of the area is both humbling and inspiring.

Next stop...Manueva.

For complete photos from the journey click here.

To sponsor a child in Ecuador visit WorldVision.ca

We´re Here!

Well, after 12 hours of travel, a stop-over in Colombia, and not one but two airplane meals, we have arrived at our hotel in Quito, the capital of Ecuador. The flights couldn´t have been smoother and going through customs was a breeze. Leaving the airport was a bit disconcerting with the evidences of a very different culture everywhere. The porter was not at all hesitant to ask (quite forcefully!) for a tip and then for more of a tip.

I'm really looking forward to tomorrow when the reason for our trip starts in earnest. We'll be visiting several Area Development Projects, meeting the staff of World Vision Ecuador, and spending time in some communities who have recieved gifts from our Gift Catalogue and have experienced the effects of child sponsorship first-hand. It´s one thing to have an intellectual understanding of how it works, but once I see with my own eyes I know my passion for what we do will be confirmed.

Until tomorrow, buenos noches.

It's Here!

Hard to believe but true, after weeks of planning and what felt like hours of packing, today is the day I fly to Ecuador with the rest of the World Vision team. We'll arrive at our hotel in Quito around midnight tonight (assuming the connections go well) and will be off to visit our first Area Development Project (ADP) at 7:30 tomorrow morning.

The past week, right up to a few minutes ago have been so busy that I haven't had a lot of time to think about the trip or what I'm looking forward to and anticipating. I have a pretty good idea in my mind of what to expect which probably means I'll have my expectations blown apart when I actually get on the ground! Watch for regular updates over the next two weeks as I try to take in and share with you all that is happening in Ecuador.

Thanks for coming on the journey!

Two Weeks

The advent of Twitter means I'm not posting nearly as much as I used to on this site however, two weeks from today I'll be taking off to Ecuador with World Vision for a week-long tour of our Area Development Programs around the country.

For myself and most of my travelling companions, it will be our first time to see World Vision's work first-hand so I'm expecting there to be lots of stories that will need to be told, stories of lives changed and hearts impacted. Access to the internet can be quite limited in some areas but my goal is to post updates (and hopefully some photos!) everyday as a way of sharing the sorrows of seeing poverty up close and the joys of knowing that we are making a difference...that you are making a difference. I hope you come along on the journey!