Bailando en la Lluvia ~ Dancing in the Rain

Jane, or Talia as she is called here in Ecuador, volunteered with Starfish during summer 2014, and has joined us again this year.  Since rainy season has been longer than usual, Jane is experiencing her first rainy season and today shares with us a great reflection on what rain means in our Starfish communities.

Photo Credit: Mary D.

"We were soaked, from head to toe. At that point, it didn’t matter anymore. The rain soothed; it cooled our bodies. We were going to get drenched anyway, so we figured, Hey, might as well enjoy the precipitation.

There was a sense of liberation in feeling the rain on our skin, allowing the earth to soak us.

We were alive.

Dancing in swirls, singing “Bailando,” happily eating guineos empastados, hopping around giant puddles, trying not to fall into any rushing “rivers” as we made our way up the steep loma to Erica’s house.

We peeled garlic under a wobbly tin porch “roof,” surrounded by Erica’s family, cousins, and neighbors. 45 pounds of peeled garlic earned the family $5.

I had been thinking about the rain. Pounding on the tin roof, flooding the streets and walkways, soaking our clothes, saturating the dirt cancha where the children played soccer, inviting mosquitos to rest in its puddles, nourishing the earth’s greenery.

“What struck you most of about your first week?” Meredith, a rad Catholic missionary we were blessed to meet this week, asked us.

“La lluvía. The rain,” I answered immediately, without hesitation. After three previous trips to Ecuador, what stood out most in my mind was the liquid precipitation that fell from the sky. Before this year, I had never been to Ecuador during the rainy season — only during the dry season, when it never rains.

The rain had been challenging me.

I had never given it much thought, especially from a social justice perspective.

In the U.S., rain is just rain.

It waters the earth. It means a gray, drizzly day. With an umbrella and adequate infrastructure, liked paved roads and sturdy houses, it doesn’t physically affect us much. In fact, for me, the rain carries hope. April showers bring May flowers. Rain helps the flowers grow and bloom and radiate brilliant beauty. We can wait through the storms with the hope that the flowers are coming — that the rain is going to result in something good and beautiful.

Rain is not quite the same here, nor does it carry the same hope. Yes, the rain waters the plants, allowing for a lush landscape, and allows for cooler temperatures; however, its negative consequences seem to far outweigh its positive one(s).

Here, the rain directly affects the marginalized — our host family, friends, students, neighbors.

In Ecuador, el invierno (when it rains) normally lasts from December to April; however, this year it’s decided to stick around with a vengeance for a few extra weeks, raining at night and sporadically throughout the day. Just yesterday, it started pouring as the Integration Day came to a close around 2pm.

The rain doesn’t appear to bother the kids much — they’ll happily continue playing soccer barefoot and walk home without an umbrella or anything to shield them from buckets of water. They will talk about the rain, though, and how awful it can be at its worst. They will mention family members who have been sick and in bed with dengue or chicuguña, two serious mosquito-borne illnesses. As Marcos, one of the Starfish’s educadores, explained to us, there has been a significant increase in the number of cases this rainy season.

Here, rain is a public health threat. Especially for the many people who have limited-to-no access to quality medical care. Mosquitos, which thrive in warm, damp places, especially in standing water, carry potentially fatal diseases if not treated.

The rain affects infrastructure. It wrecks foundations and causes roads and the exterior of buildings to wear down. It can destroy weak cane houses, leaving people homeless or with significantly damaged homes.

The rain affects transportation. It floods the roads, forming large “rivers” and puddles in dirt roads, making it impossible for a car or bus to pass. Just walking through these muddy messes is a challenge.

The rain affects pollution. It carries heaps of trash, sewage, and other pollutants, into the streets where people step.

And Jackie and I are not even here for the thick of it. We are only here for the tail of the season, when the rain is finally beginning to calm down.

I had never given much thought to weather and precipitation before — something that is out of our control, but without a doubt, seriously impacts poverty. No wonder countries in tropical regions tend to be the most underdeveloped. In many ways, intense rain and heat coupled with poor infrastructure perpetuate a cycle of poverty.

I’m not sure I’ll ever see rain in quite the same way. And maybe you won’t either."

~Jane L., Starfish Volunteer.  Read more reflections from Jane on her blog!

A hungry child can't study!

Last week we talked about how the rain is affecting the families of Guayaquil and the whole coastal region of Ecuador.  Not only are houses and streets flooding, causing damages to homes and bringing new illness - but the alimentación (nutrition) of already marginalized families may be taking a hit as well.  As reported in Ecuador's newspaper "El Universo" many rice plantations and the areas surrounding them are currently flooded, cutting off access and driving up prices.  Rice is a staple food in Ecuador, eaten 2 or 3 times a day - and sometimes the only thing a family could afford at what was a mere 30 cents a pound.  As of March 3 rice was at 37 cents a pound, a 23% increase and a huge burden for many families.

Other food hit by rising prices due to the flooding include tomatoes, berries, fish and beans.  These prices are reportedly rising as much as 40%.

Find out at more at: http://www.eluniverso.com/2013/03/05/1/1356/miden-impacto-fuerte-lluvia-zonas-arroceras.html

As part of our 2013-2014 programming Starfish will be providing a healthy snack at all tutoring sessions and monthly meetings as well as providing educational charlas (talks) throughout the year about healthy eating & living habits!  With this new initiative we hope to instill healthy habits and increase the ability of our students to study effectively without the pangs of hunger as a distraction.

Flor de Bastión students enjoying a healthy snack of yogurt, fruit and granola at the October 2012 monthly meeting.

Bienvenidos - Welcome to Starfish 2013-2014!

The new class of 2013-2014 Starfish Scholars has been selected - with many familiar faces, and a few new ones!  Once again we will be working in the 2 neighborhoods of Guasmo and Flor de Bastion.  Stay tuned in the coming weeks to meet our new scholars!

Congratulations to Ana, Anthony, Arelisa, Argenis, Betsabeth, Briggette, Carlos, Cristhian, Dayanna, Eddy, Elian, Evelyn, Genesis, Geovanny, Jerson, Joel, Karolayn, Lili, Maria, Maria Belen, Marlon, Milena, Pamela, Samantha, Solange, Steve & William!

We look forward to working with them in the 2013-2014 school year, however this year the President of Ecuador has decided to start school one month later - in May - to accomodate the many schools that often open late due to flooding in the rainy season.

Want to learn more about rainy season? Check out this picture I took last year and for our spanish readers - read how many parts of Guayaquil have been declared in a state of emergency of last Saturday's torrential rains.
http://www.eluniverso.com/2013/03/03/1/1445/coe-cantonal-provincial-guayaquil-activan-lluvia-sabado.html

Center of Guayaquil, April 2012. 

The neighborhoods in which Starfish works are not blessed to have paved roads in all areas, making rainy season an even messier scene than the one above.

Rainy Season "wow"s ... and woes.

Meeting all of the families in Guasmo and Flor de Bastion, whether or not we had space to accept them in our program for this year, was definitely a highlight of my time so far working for Starfish. Each family was so unique and each had their own story to tell – of how they came to live where they live, and the challenges they have in providing for their families. All of our scholars come from families living with very little economic resources. Many families told stories of past years. “We didn’t know how we were going to do it, but we knew we had to provide for our children’s education.” “We did raffles in our neighborhood to be able to afford the four books our daughter needed.”

Out of all the visits, there is one house visit that I will surely never forget for two main reasons. The first reason – the story. William does not have any contact with his mom or dad, and lives alone with his elderly grandmother in a donated house made out of sugar cane. Before re-marrying William’s mom came to live with him and his grandmother for about a year, but when she left she did not take William with her and since then they have not seen each other. William is 15 years old and works when he can to pay for his school supplies, but the legal age to work in Ecuador is 18 so it is often hard to find work. While interviewing his grandmother, several times she began to cry and hold me because it was so difficult to answer the same questions I had asked all the rest of the families because sometimes she had no answer. “If no one works, where does the money come from for food or other necessities?” “ –Sometimes my daughter helps.” Imagine that. 

William and his grandmother during the initial house visit.

The second reason I will never forget this visit? – the RAIN! While at William’s house, the interview became harder when it started to rain so hard I could no longer hear the grandmother who was sitting right next to me. She was kind enough to let us wait out the rain in her house and then give me a plastic bag to make sure all my forms didn’t get wet on the walk back to Mi Cometa.

Check out all the rain! This was during one of the many rainy house visits Jenn went on.

In Ecuador, rainy season lasts from about December – May without stop. This year the rains have been worse than usual and many areas are flooded. You can’t walk around without boots up to your knees in some of the poorest sectors. Water enters houses even in nicer sectors. Kids play in the dirty street water and get sick. Schools are forced to delay sign-ups and start dates because of flooding. It rains everyday, for many hours, and harder than any rain I’ve ever seen in the United States. Read more about how the rain is affecting the opening of schools and daily life in Guayaquil here.

http://www.eluniverso.com/2012/03/18/1/1445/lluvia-mas-12-horas-dejo-inundacion-afectados.html

http://www.eluniverso.com/2012/03/22/1/1445/intensa-lluvia-cae-guayaquil.html

--Jenn Zocco, The Starfish Foundation In-Country Representative