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Reflections
What some of our volunteers have to say about their experiences in Quito:
My experiences got me to think about how dozens of factors - like nationality, wealth, race, gender, family, beliefs - affect a person's life, for example in terms of their ability to access such things as healthcare, education, and jobs. I was really forced to set aside my perspective of - everything - as I, a middle class US citizen, am used to understanding it, and to try to see the world more as the Ecuadorians that I met and worked with see it.
- Allison Sponseller , tutor
I had an incredible experience volunteering with the Quito Project. Our project included programs that reached a diverse population within the San Martin community, and our interventions addressed multiple areas of need. As a social worker, I witnessed improvements literally occurring before my eyes on a daily basis. A formerly shy, sad child shrieks with joy as she acts out a fairy tale. A mother of four proudly tells her new friends in nutrition class about the healthy meal she cooked for her family last night. A grateful mother thanks me for advice on helping her son improve his behavior in school. The need is great, but the people are strong, determined, and incredibly grateful. I am indebted to the people of Quito for giving me more than I could ever give them, and I can only hope that I made a fraction of the impact on them that they have made on me.
- Julie Maslowsky , social work
It was truly an experience of a lifetime. I was able to make some kind of difference in the San Martin community and I was very pleased in knowing I was able to do that.
- Eunice Kim , social work
Even in the short amount of time we spent in Ecuador, there is not a doubt in my mind that we were able to win several small battles with regard to the education of those children. What moves me even more than the thought of what we accomplished while we were there, though, is the thought of what the kids would have been doing if we were not there. With a neighborhood filled with half-finished construction sites, garbage heaps, and busses that hardly bother to yield to pedestrians, the image of the fifty or so kids from the Quito Project running around unsupervised all afternoon is one I care not to think about. While the project is a great educational tool, it is also, just as importantly, a safe environment for the kids to spend their afternoons, do their homework, play games and just be kids. These are experiences that every child deserves to have and the fact that we were able to help give them that opportunity makes our victory much larger than just education.
- Jeff Collins , tutor
The health system in Ecuador is a unique blend of traditional healing methods, conventional western medicine, and emerging alternative therapies. I learned a lot about incorporating people's health beliefs into their care. As many of our interviewees pointed out, faith in the care you are receiving makes successful healing more likely to occur. Understanding a person's culture and beliefs greatly increases the effectiveness of health care providers.
- Anica Madeo , Quito Film Collective
The Quito Project was maybe the most incredible experience I've ever had. Working with the kids in San Martin was extremely gratifying, in that the moment you arrived, you were bombarded by kids all wanting to give you a hug. It was amazing to watch them working on their schoolwork, and to know that us being there was such a big encouragement to them. Since some of their parents don't really put an emphasis on schoolwork, I know that just our presence there was what encouraged the kids to do their homework. We developed close relationships with the kids, and while it was a teary-eyed goodbye at the end of the month, I knew that more tutors would be coming in the next few days to continue helping them where my group left off.
- Stephanie Guisy , tutor
For me, getting to run a clinic in a village in Quito was a dream come true. Getting to be involved in experiences like this is one of the reasons I came to medical school, one of the reasons I want to be a doctor. We were able to serve so many people, sometimes 82 people would come through, each happy that they had someone to listen to them. It was sad to hear about the aches and pains people had stored up to tell this doctor, not knowing when they would get a chance to see another one. I loved getting to talk to the school children and trying to translate words from Spanish to English. I loved getting to explain how to take vitamins to them or their parents, or telling people how to help relieve their tension headaches. I loved the fact that by the end of our clinic, we knew people in the village as we walked down the street, and they all greeted us with a smile. I just wish I could go back every year!
- Preetha Iyengar , medical student