Luke and Brock making breakfast
Today started out with a lazy morning at the house. Luke made French toast and Brock made eggs, both of which were delicioso! After breakfast and showers we dragged chairs out into the lawn for an orientation and discussion about Ecuador and Manna Project´s role in the country. An interesting note from our discussion is the difference between the goals of Manna Ecuador and Manna Nicaragua. While Manna Nicaragua works to fill basic needs in the community such as basic health care and vitamins for children living in La Chureca (the city dump), Manna Ecuador is more focused on education and nutrition. The Ecuador group runs a library that serves a community on the outskirts of Quito while also serving as an area for Program Directors to teach English, children´s art, women´s exercise, cooking and nutrition classes.
Manna Ecuador house
After lunch at the house we all hopped on a bus up to Rumiloma where we got a tour of the library Manna Ecuador runs. The library is on the third floor of the building, with a teen room and children´s art area around the corner. Upstairs is the exercise room and where the Program Directors teach women´s exercise and cooking classes (complete with a tiny oven and stove). We headed up to the roof for some incredible views of the surrounding mountains and the nearby plateau that Quito sits upon.
El Centro sign
Our group on top of El Centro
Mural in the teen center
Library
Library
We headed down the street to Fundacion Añamisi to work in their organic garden. A group the week before had cleaned up the front garden, so we headed out back and ripped out weeds, trowled the dirt, and reorganized the rows. We made quite a dent on the work that needed to be done helping out Laura and Christian, the organization´s leaders. Afterwards we headed inside for a discussion of the organization and how they got started in a country that doesn´t practice sustainable agriculture. The organization helps out local farmers by selling their organic produce in Quito and through an internet ordering service. They are quite an impressive pair, and they even showed us a video of Rafael Correra (the president of Ecuador) congratulating them for winning a competition. Check out their website http://delamataalaolla.wordpress.com/ !
Working in the organic garden
After snapping a few pictures and chasing down a bus, we headed back to the house for taco dinner and went on a walk to get some empenadas. We finished out the night with a discussion of our activities and some brainstorming about how we can bring the goals of Manna Ecuador back to Athens. Tomorrow starts bright and early, since we´re headed into Quito for the morning!
Post written by Morgan Ackley, Vice President of Public Relations
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