Familia: A Starfish Volunteer Reflection Part 2 of 2

Part 2: (Be sure to check out last week's post if you missed Part 1)

To survive in Ecuador you have to pay attention and learn quickly. The custom while greeting people is to kiss them on the left cheek. Women kiss each other and men kiss women, but men do not kiss other men. You can imagine how this can be tricky when you are first learning the cultural norms and your Ecuadorian family member’s are practical jokesters. Another interesting cultural phenomenon is machismo, best translated as an intense masculine pride of sorts. This can best be seen while taking public transportation. If you are a man, the bus will not stop for you when you are boarding or debarking. However, the bus comes to a complete halt for women. Some interesting facts: the current gas price is about a dollar, 22 chocolate covered bananas cost $1.40, and bus fare is 25 cents.  The words that come to mind when thinking back on this experience are “eye-opening” and “life changing.” It is not every day that you can experience the culture and the people that you find in Ecuador and it really makes you appreciate your life.

  

I have been asked several times “what is your favorite thing about Ecuador?” To me the answer is simple: its people… especially my Ecuadorian friends and family. I stayed with a host family in Guasmo during my trip. My host mother’s name was Filadelfia (pronounced Philadelphia) which we all thought was funny given that I go to school in Philadelphia. Filadelfia, in my humble opinion, is one of Ecuador’s best cooks. This single mother of three runs the house, cooks every meal, not only for our family but occasionally for the neighbors, all out of a compassion for her friends and family. 

Some of the kids who made a particular impact on me were Geovanny, Christian, Joel, and Mike. These four boys as well as all of the children’s at Starfish have such compassion and genuineness and will never be forgotten. These boys would go out of their way to say hello and make sure that my day was going well. By the end of my trip, these boys went from being my students to my friends to my little brothers. 

If you ever have an opportunity to visit Ecuador I would highly recommend it. In Ecuador it’s not hard to find an experience that will make an impression and meeting these families was truly an unforgettable experience.

           

  

All the best,

Greg “Gregorio” Branigan 

      

Written by Summer 2014 Starfish volunteer in Ecuador, Greg Branigan.

Alegría - Happiness: A Starfish Volunteer Reflection Part 1 of 2

¡Saludos desde Ecuador!

I am very proud to be associated with such a great organization as the Starfish Foundation. Ecuador is a very unique country filled with extraordinary people. I was given the opportunity to meet some of the most generous and gracious people whom I now have the pleasure of calling my friends. All of the families we met warmly opened their homes to us and shared their culture and their lives without hesitation.

 

During the week, the volunteers attend refuerzo, which are the tutoring sessions that occur at the foundation for the scholarship students as well as many of the neighborhood kids. The general set up is an hour and half of studying and doing homework and then a half hour of dynamicos (a game that gets everyone up and moving). There are two locations for refuerzo: one in Guasmo and the other in Flor de Bastion. My job as a volunteer was to help with student’s homework and to explain concepts that they did not understand; my primary role was to assist the students in English, Math, Biology, and Chemistry, all in Spanish. This allowed me to get a glimpse of the education system in Ecuador, which is a wakeup call for most of us. A major struggle that we have to deal with is the fact that the students don’t always have the most competent teachers in their schools. Many times the homework they have is only copying problems or multiple pages out of their textbooks into their personal notebooks without truly understanding the concepts. With this, the kids are only going through the motions because the massive amount of work prohibits real learning and understanding. Despite this, they still keep going and are dedicated and excited to learn. 

 I found it interesting to observe the differences between the two groups and how they have formed their own community within Starfish. The two towns have their own distinct personalities, both towns being of extreme poverty. Guasmo being slightly more developed and Flor de Bastion only having running tap water for the last three months. One can only imagine how a child would act coming from either of these two scenarios, yet the commonality amongst all of the children and people who I worked with was a genuineness, eloquence, and love that was obvious within the first few moments of meeting them. While talking to one of the other visitors, he made the comment that if you needed to learn how to love you could not find a better teacher then the families in Ecuador.

         

Given the loving and genuine nature of the people it is hard to imagine that the areas in which they live are in utter shambles. The typical house has windows covered by large metal gates and tin roofs. While lucky families have cement floors and walls, the remainder of the houses are made of dirt floors and cane. What is extraordinary is the happiness that radiates from these people while living in this level of poverty. It is said money cannot buy happiness and you wouldn’t need more proof then to spend the day with the Starfish families. 

Written by Summer 2014 Starfish Volunteer in Ecuador, Greg Branigan.  Stay tuned for part 2 of Greg's reflection next week!

More Tutoring = Better Grades and More Fun!

For the month of December we decided to experiment with adding an extra day of "Refuerzo" or Tutoring in each neighborhood in response to parent suggestions during our latest round of evaluations.  So far, it's been a huge success!!

Karolayn

An extra day of tutoring means more time to dedicate the school subjects that our Scholars find difficult.  Our "Ayudantes" or employees have been busy helping students review some tough material so that the next time they have exams they're all set to get even better grades!

Employee Tyrone presenting to the morning group in Flor

This has also allowed us more time for the group presentations on topics important to teens that we told you about in last week's blog.

Lili & Milena

Dayanna presenting on Effects of Drug Use

Since it's December we've also used the time to bring some Christmas joy to our classroom space too - everything pictured below is hand-made by our Starfish Scholars!!

Happy Holidays a little early from all of us at Starfish!

Tutoring update - Group Presentations!

At Starfish we not only give scholarships, but we promote a well-rounded education for our students.   One way we do this is through a new activity we started a few weeks ago during our tutoring sessions.  In addition to the regular homework assigned by their schools, each table was assigned a topic to research and later present to the rest of their classmates.

Cristhian, Dayanna, Samantha and Anthony

The first set of topics dealt with some very important topics to today's youth - dangers and prevention of drug use, as well as puberty, sexuality, etc.  Over the course of 2 weeks 1 group presented each day, with an open discussion afterwards to answer any other questions.

Abigail

This presentations serve another purpose as well - it's a great chance to practice research and public speaking skills in a friendly environment.

Julio

Each month we will assign new topics so that our students continue to learn from each other and excel in the classroom!

Ariana, Cristhian, Dayanna, Anthony