> Special Sections > Making a Difference in Ecuador > Children finally get running water
Children finally get running water
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Our students showing off their new toys.
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By Erin Duffy
Correspondent
Hey, ya'll.
Well since we got back from our two weeks of travel, we finished up the vacation school and are now into the 2007 - 2008 school year.
I keep forgetting to mention all the amazing donations we have received from home. We brought down four large boxes of donations with us in September and have gotten over 10 boxes of clothes and games since then.
On the last day of our vacation school we brought in the donations we had left after our first distribution day (back in December) for another one! The kids were thrilled. We filled a classroom with t-shirts, shoes, dresses, shorts, soccer equipment, hats, etc.
Most of the children were able to chose an entire new outfit from what YOU all have donated. Thank you so much from Taylor and I and the kids!
We had already posted pictures of the first distribution day (mostly soccer equipment), and there are now photos up from this last time a few weeks ago. www.webshots.com, username: erin_taylor, password: ecuador).
Well, when we first got back from our travel time, we arrived at our school to find some of the land around our school filled in (in preparation to start building a new school).
Unfortunately this wasn't complete (still needs to be leveled and there are a few areas that haven't been filled at all) and nothing has been done since.
We have come to learn that nothing here happens quickly; either someone is sick, or there is no contact information, or the only machine in the province to do the job is out of service. So our spirits have taken a slight nose dive for the time being.
With only two months left until we head back to the states, we cannot afford to wait much longer. The good thing is that the schools here, even brand new, are still very simple and could be constructed in one to two months. So, tomorrow we are going to the municipality with the director of the school to hopefully get all our questions answered.
On a more positive note, two weeks ago we were able to get a water connection to the community that our school is in! There was technically a place to put the connection from the main road, but nobody could afford the tubing to actually run the water into the community.
So with just over $300 of the donations we were able to make a big difference in their daily lives! Before this connection, they used very dirty local rivers or went to other communities and paid for water by the 15 liter bottle.
Of course this was not as simple as going and buying tubes, nothing here is that easy. We had to go back and forth to the water company many times for them to find the papers, get the right signatures, etc. before we were allowed to actually start digging the trench for the tubing!
We have a lot of great ideas for things that we want to put the remaining donations towards, but we have to wait to see the outcome of our meeting tomorrow. Right now the rumors are that the local government will supply the materials for two classrooms (we need at least three, which is where more donation money could be used) along with five military personnel to help with the construction.
However, five parents from our school need to show up to help with the construction every day as well. As you all know, the people here cannot afford to take days off from work and volunteer at the school because they will have no money for food. So all in all, we should know a lot more tomorrow after our meeting. If it looks like we won't get the school done, there are more things with water and school materials that we'd like to do. We'll keep you posted!
Our first day was last Monday, April 2, but the attendance levels were extremely low because it was Easter week. Today we had about 75 percent of the students, but I guess the start of the school year is always like this.
Although nearly every school here is public, there is a fee or "matricula" of between $15 - $50 that needs to be paid per child at the beginning of the year. Those that have not paid the matricula are not allowed to attend school until it is.
Therefore, there are many students that don't come in the first few weeks since their parents cannot afford the fee until later into the year. Our school director says the attendance is usually up to average in May or June. Can you imagine trying to catch up on one to two months of school work?! Well, that's about it for school stuff!
Holidays here are nothing like back home because the people here can't afford the decorations and elaborate dinners. We spent Easter at home with our host family, but it didn't feel much different than any other day. Of course we love our family and always enjoy spending time with them, but it's just not the same.
Many people have been asking me what I'll be doing when I get back in June... Well the truth is I don't know. I do have an ideal, but we will see what happens. As of right now, I will be in East Longmeadow (my hometown) with my family for the majority of the summer. I am hoping to move to Boston for the fall, but that all depends on if I can get a job! I am mostly looking into the education field, but am pretty open to anything. Who knows..
Thanks for the continued support!
Besitos,
Erin
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> Special Sections > Making a Difference in Ecuador > Children finally get running water
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