GO! Ecuador- Spring Break 2012

Here at Fordham all students have the opportunity to participate in the Global Outreach program. Global Outreach allows students to travel either domestically or internationally to participate in service or cultural emersions trips for 1-2 weeks. Fordham currently offers over 30 different projects over winter break, spring break or at the beginning of summer vacation.

This past Spring Break I had the opportunity of participating in the Global Outreach Ecuador project. My team consisted of 8 other undergraduate students, 2 graduate students chaperones and 1 undergraduate student leader. The application process began at the beginning of October and included both a paper application in addition to a personal interview with the team leader. After being selected, my team met weekly to prepare for the trip to Ecuador. During our weekly meetings we learned about the culture of Ecuador and discuss our anxieties and excitements about the trip. As a team we hosted fundraisers to help defray some of the costs for our project. We had Bake Sales in McGinley Student Center and a Valentine’s Day cupcake delivery for students to send cupcakes to their friends’ residence halls.

After quite a few months of preparation, at noon on March 11^th, our team finally boarded the plane to Guayaquil, Ecuador. Our project was immersion based and while in Ecuador we would be hosted by the Rostro de Cristo Foundation. When we arrived in Ecuador later that same day, we were greeted by four enthusiastic Rostro de Cristo volunteers, one being Alli, our group’s host volunteer.

Throughout the week, we met with members of the local AJS community in Duran, Ecuador. Neighbors invited us into their homes to share with us their stories. We met Hesus, a single mother of five children who loved to cook, Lupe, a recently divorced mother of three grown children who had moved away, Gabriel, a sweet elderly man who simply had a passion for life and learning, Aide, a 21 year old student at the University in Guayaquil majoring in Social Work who had learned to speak English in elementary and high school and Rosa, an elderly widow who was adored by the children because she sold ice pops on hot days. We spent our afternoons at a local after school program called Semillas where kids of all ages would come each afternoon to play in the park, participate in a game of soccer or complete a small art project. We also had the opportunity to visit a second after school program called Manos, where children of the deciocho de augusto community came together each afternoon to participate in similar activities. During our trip to Manos, we painted and cleaned the classroom areas so students had a nice space to complete their art projects each afternoon. One morning, we took a short trip to a school called Nuevo Mundo. Nuevo Mundo is a private school located in the city of Guayaquil where students who can afford education learn English as well as other subjects. During the school year, students who attend in the morning can afford to pay a high tuition rate while students in the afternoon pay a discounted rate. At the end of their 9^th grade school year, 10 students out of the 400 that attend the afternoon school are given a scholarship to continue their education by attending high school. Though only a small number continue at Nuevo Mundo, other students are free to find another high school. We had the pleasure of speaking with 5 scholarship students whose English and passion for learning were truly incredible. Finally, we visited Damien House, a local leprosy hospital. At Damien, we had the opportunity to speak with cured leprosy patients still in need of care or neglected by their families’ for having the disease of the ‘untouchables.’ We were also able to purchase some small crafts made by the patients of the hospital to help each of them earn a few extra dollars for trips organized by the hospital.

Participating in the Global Outreach Ecuador project was truly a rewarding experience. Not only did I have the chance to visit a country I had never been to before, I also learned the importance of making others feel loved and valued. The people of Ecuador were so welcoming and shared with us some of their most personal stories. Though we did not leave something tangible behind, we listened to their stories and left them with the sense of dignity they lack from living a life of extreme poverty. Upon returning from Ecuador, I was excited to find new opportunities to help those of my own community and encourage my friends to participate in a Global Outreach project before graduating. Be sure to check out the Global Outreach web page at http://www.fordham.edu/mission/mission_and_ministry/global_outreach/index.asp for more information on all of the Global Outreach projects!