Tuesday, September 19

Ecuador Day 6: Our First Volunteer Gig in Monte en Senai

We all got up around 7ish and I was glad I took a shower the night before because it was a mad house with that many people wandering around the house.  There were people sleeping everywhere.  I was hungry so I went into the kitchen and took a couple bananas to tie me over until we had a plan of what we all were going to eat.  The transportation was suppose to be here around 9 a.m. to take 20+ people to our first volunteer site.

We took all of the supplies we would need downstairs along with our personal belongings and stood there for I don't know how long while Myrna feverishly tried figuring out the transportation issues.  



One van came and we tried to fit as many supplies and people into it as we could.




Another vehicle pulled up behind the van there was no way the rest of the people and supplies were going to fit into it.  Myrna had to figure out another way for all of us to get to our location.  In about another half hour a city bus comes rolling in.  I didn't know you could rent a city bus but you might be able to in Ecuador.


It seemed like it took forever to get to the part of town this community was in.  I had no idea what to expect or what the people were going to be like that we would be working on.  It was probably one of the saddest bus ride's I've ever been on.  There was trash everywhere.  I mean everywhere.  No one used garbage cans.  When the garbage truck did come to pick up trash, people would heap it on the street corners loose or in bags.  I saw several people digging through the garbage to see if there was anything worth keeping.

When we got off of the freeway (E40) and made our way through the various streets.  There, we saw how people made their living outside the city in the "suburbs."  Most of the people have store fronts that sell whatever they can.  Most of it was rice, veggies, fruits and plucked chickens hanging from wires.  I even saw whole pig faces hanging from wires.  Some sold sodas, juices and water.  Most people bought the sodas and juices because they were cheaper than water.




Most of the area was in disarray.  Some of the cinderblock houses were incomplete, some were missing doors, windows, parts of the streets were unfinished, there were potholes.   There were tons of children running around, stray animals, mostly dogs and cats (which they treat like rodents) and most of the people were just trying to sell their goods to keep their family afloat.

A lot of the clothing and shoes you could tell have been loved.  You know for a fact that some of those clothes are worn just about every day if not most of the week.  Most of the people who lived here wore sandals or flip flops and they are so worn you could see that they've had them for many years.

The sights, sounds and smells just made you thankful that you didn't have to live in these conditions. Just this tiny exposure to the way third world countries live really opens your eyes.  This was my first time out of the country and you just can't imagine a place like this without actually going there.  Pictures, documentaries, the news...anything media related just doesn't even come close to the reality of it.  I really can't imagine living in a place like this after what I've been exposed to my entire life.  I mean, it was day 6 of being abroad and I missed drying my clothes so much.  It's too expensive to own a dryer and a lot of people have drying rooms or hang them out on the clothes line depending on the weather of course.

The stuff people worry about in the US is nothing compared to what these people worry about day to day.  Some of them don't even know where they are going to get their next meal or their next bottle of clean water.  The sanitation systems in Ecuador are very subpar however since the 80's they have gotten better but still is no where near what we have in the US.  A lot of the water people use for drinking and cooking have to be trucked in, the rest of it is undrinkable and is used for showering and cleaning.


We turned down a street and I could tell we were almost there.  There were a lot of people gathering at this little run down community center.  They were very excited to see us and even made a sign.  When we got off they cheered and cheered for us and we haven't even done anything yet.  It was a humbling experience and some of the volunteers that were with our group cried.


They welcomed us with open arms.  We unloaded our supplies and set them in the designated areas we would be working.  We followed them into the community center where they served us a breakfast of hard boiled eggs, crescent rolls and orange juice.  It wasn't a lot of food but it did the job for now.  I can not remember when we actually started working but we all found our spots and started working.  I was the sterilization tech and my job was to make sure the instruments we used in people's mouths were sterilized as regulated as it was in Ecuador.  My process was to rinse them, scrub them with a brush with soapy water, dip them in the bleach and wipe them off with cavi wipes.  I did that a few hundred times that day and the water kept shutting off so Maritza kept yelling "EDNA, EDNA!"  Edna was one of the people who set up the communication between the Love project and this community.  Since she spoke Spanish she was able to keep the water going for me at the sink.


When I wasn't sterilizing instruments I was giving out toys for kids after they got their teeth cleaned by our assistants and I also got a few pictures in.  Even though we were in the shade I was really sweaty.


It was really sad to see how poor this community was and how bad some of their teeth were.  I found out it was because of the sanitation conditions, money and the availability of sodas and juices.

Around lunchtime, the community made us rice chicken and plantains.  The rice and chicken were delicious but the plantains...meh, not a fan of them.





We saw a bunch of kids and some adults who sat there all day to be seen and their time sitting there to them was worth it.  These people were tough.  The procedures we performed for them...people in the states would whine over or need nitrous. They just went about their day when they were done.  Several kids went out in the street with their goats, chickens or pigs and played with the soccer ball.


We helped them put the chairs and tables away around 6ish when we were done and they had made us dinner.  I wasn't really hungry so I didn't partake in dinner. 



We took a couple of group pictures outside the community center and grabbed our stuff while we waited about an hour for our city bus to get here.  I was so ready to take a shower and go to bed.  My cold was kicking my butt.


We got back to the apartment after bringing up all of our belongings and supplies.  I got into the shower as quickly as I could.  Myrna washed all of our scrubs and t-shirts and hung some of them outside and some in the drying room.  We will just have to remember that they were out the for the next day.  I did some chatting with Ben with what little public internet I had and I went to bed around 11 p.m. I was so tired.

Next Adventure:  Ecuador Day 7: Traveling to Santa Elena, Hotel and the Community of Cerro Alto

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