GENESIS VOLUNTEER PROGRAM - Spruce Grove Examiner Article - May 2004
Standing along side the road, my sister Catherine and I wave down the speeding local bus. The driver almost comes to a stop as we hop on and pay our 30 cents for the ride to La Florida. The 30 minute trip takes us off the coast and up into the hills of Ecuador. Still in the early morning, the bus hops along to the Latin music blaring out of the makeshift stereo. Seemingly in the middle of nowhere the bus drops us off, and we begin our brisk 25 minute walk up the narrow dirt path to the only school in the hillside area of La Florida. Along the way we cross paths with more donkeys than people, three tiny bamboo houses and views that stretch for kilometers across the stunningly green and lush backdrop. As we approach the school, there is laughter, and children answering in full unison fills the air.
All 46 children we teach at Escuela Una de Ocobre come from the very poor farming community that is La Florida. The school is comprised of one room with scattered desks, one bamboo hut with dirt floors, no bathroom, and whatever resources that we can carry with us through the hills from the town. Every student receives aid through Genesis Volunteer and Sponsorship program, of which Catherine and I are volunteers. Without this aid, many of these students would not ever experience school. The school has been operating for three years, and provides education for students until grade seven. 24 students in grades 1-3 occupy the one classroom, and another 22 students in grades 4-7 have desks in the bamboo hut.
After these children have completed grade seven, their formal education will be complete and for the most part they will work on the family farm.
There are two teachers in the school, both work tirelessly with these children for nine months a year, have no training and earn $50 American per month. Even in a poor and inexpensive area like La Florida, $50 a month does not go far. Teaching is not considered an important job, and that apathy towards education is very prevalent in many ways. Resources are virtually non-existent. The bag of books, pens, flashcards, toys, and games that were donated by Spruce Grove Composite High School students and staff literally doubled the resources the school had for the entire year.
With the obstacles in place that would close down any school in Canada, the students are grateful for what they have. They spend recess playing soccer on the dirt field with a ball that is half inflated and older than most of the children. They greet Catherine and I everyday with wide smiles and a song, followed by ferocious clapping and expectant looks. The children work incredibly hard, have a keen and wonderful sense of humor, and are very patient when we as English teachers stumble with our limited yet growing Spanish. The teachers, who speak very little English, are just as curious and hardworking as the students. We even caught one of them giving a lesson in English after we had taught and were working with the other class! Without question there is a varied and great exchange of knowledge, understanding, and hope given out everyday that we spend time with these children. There is no doubt in my mind that this exchange works out in favor of the teacher as often as it does the student.
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This article was written 2 weeks into the 2 month volunteer program that we were a part of. Our experience in the last six weeks only strengthened our commitment to these children for the long term. They are hardworking, friendly, humorous, loving, kind and ambitious. Many of them have a desire for further education and life outside the farming community. Most of the students have not seen the ocean, and it is 30 minutes away. Children of Ecuador Foundation provides these students with a chance in this world through private school education and improved facilities. |
