Beinvendios!

Well, 2 months have passed (3 for Anna) and we are feeling settled in the busy streets of Guayaquil.

It has already been an experience never to forget with highs and lows. We have both got through the initial culture shock, learning the different but wonderful ways of Ecuador and Ecuadorians. The climate has taken time to get used to too. In the city it is very humid and stuffy and in the sectors the sun shines so strong we wish we had a mobile cold shower with us.

We have immersed ourselves in the Juconi team and everyone has been very patient with our lack of language. It has been frustrating not being able to say exactly what we want to and a few misunderstandings have led to funny outcomes. But through lots of practice, everyday we are improving along with our communication and friendships.

‘Club de Arte’ (art club) is now in full swing (as you can see in the slideshow to the right of the page). We are running three clubs in different sectors on the outskirts of the city, Fertisa, Balerio Estacio and Nueva Prosperina. We are working with around 100 children, who are part of the Juconi project and from the local community. We hope to start a fourth in the New Year.

We are accompanying the Juconi educators on house visits twice a week. This involves visiting the families in their homes to see how everyone is doing. We do different activities depending on the needs of the families each week. This has included playing games with the children, helping with homework, taking children to see a doctor, talking about any problems they might have with school, food, relationships etc and building the occasional table. These visits have been very important to us, allowing us to see where and how the children live, how Juconi as an organisation works and giving us another opportunity to build relationships with the families, children and Juconi staff.

We also help two evenings a week with ‘Operacion Amistad’ (Operation Friendship) which involves going to the spots in the city where the children work and playing games with them. This is the first step of the Juconi process where the educators meet and form relationships with new children and maintain bonds with existing Juconi kids.

We are finding both the house visits and Operation Amistad extremely beneficial and rewarding experiences.

The children are amazing even when they’re being little monsters. We get smothered in sloppy kisses for ‘hello’ & ‘goodbye’. They are always ready to correct our Spanish and every week our relationships are becoming stronger and the children are more cooperative.

Your support and donations have already been a great help in enabling us to get the art club started, buying essential materials such as glue, paint, and stickers!

More about the art project to follow.....