Something tells me I'm in for something good

Things have gotten pretty busy here in Alausi lately. Last Friday I think my organization finally understood why I’m here. Even though I have been assigned to my counterpart, Rosa, to help her with the Jovenes con Vision (Youth with Vision) project, I can also expand and work on other projects the organization is working on. I sat down with the nutritionist and president of COCAH and explained to them my plan to do a diagnostic of the communities in general, not just a sexual and reproductive health survey with my group of jovenes (though I do intend to do a diagnostic survey with them as well). They got super excited about the idea of a diagnostic. They have never really stepped back from the projects they have going so far to check their efficacy or to see if there are other community needs that need to addressed. Also, COCACH has been collaborating with a U.S. based organization called World Vision for funding and resources for the past 10 years. World Vision, however, will be pulling out of the region next year, but COCAH will remain a part of the community. They want me to use this diagnostic tool to identify areas in which COCAH can expand and maintain projects while looking for other sources of funding/support. They told me what areas (specifically health related) that they would like to further investigate. I will be doing 3 different surveys in all of the communities they work in (15 in total).
I think that my biggest obstacle will be the fact that I am working with so many indigenous communities. The number doesn’t scare me as much as the indigenous aspect. Pretty much everyone is bilingual in Spanish and Kichwa, but the older generations are much more comfortable speaking Kichwa (which I am only now just learning). Also, these communities have been living in these mountains for thousands of years. They have a very well established culture that is not going to change just because some gringa came into town. Knowledge is generally passed down from generation to generation. Thus, they have a much different concept of learning—especially in a classroom setting. I think my challenge will be understanding their concept of learning and adapting my message in a way that is respectful of their culture, methods of teaching and way of life. The last thing I want to do is come into their lives, tell them what they are doing wrong and then try to fix it. The communities want COCACH to help them improve their living situation (which is very rural and very poor) and they are all very glad that I am here to help. My goal (which is also the goal of COCACH) is to understand what exactly it is that these communities need to improve their rural situation within the boundaries of their already established customs.
Priority number one is Jovenes con Vision. This is a project that trains youth leaders to teach their peers about sexual and reproductive health. 1st I want to see what these youth leaders already know about sexuality, sexual rights, gender equity and gender violence. 2nd I want to survey their peers to see what they know. The youth leaders are working on a skit to teach their peers about sexuality. I think that this is a great idea. Based on what I’ve seen of these indigenous communities, lectures are a recipe for disaster. I’ve seen the skit and think it’s good—but doesn’t nearly touch on all that is sex, sexuality and gender equity. I think that a series of skits—each with a different theme of sexual and reproductive health—will be the best option. The good thing is that this group is very active and eager to learn.
Secondly, I am going to focus on general health needs of families. The nutritionist, Alicia, already leads workshops on nutrition on a weekly basis for each community. Last Thursday I had the opportunity to observe one of these workshops. The mothers really didn’t seem to remember what they had learned the previous week. No one really paid attention during the talk (which was about nutrition during pregnancy) and when Alicia gave certain suggestions (like that they women should not work as hard or carry large loads on their backs during pregnancy because it can hurt the baby), the women responded with comments like, “That’s not true. I worked all the way up until birth with each of my children and they are just fine.” They really weren’t receptive to what she was saying. I could tell that she too was frustrated by their lack of enthusiasm. It seems that they only go to these lectures because they won’t get their bono (welfare checks) if they don’t come. I am working on a survey to learn what the mothers do and don’t know about raising healthy children and also asking them what they want to learn about. The most difficult part here is that a lot of the women can’t read or write, so I will have to do each of these surveys individually instead of handing them out in mass quantities to fill out and collecting them later like I can with the youth groups.
My third priority is the schools. Each community has a pre-school, an elementary school and a high school. We generally have workshops in the classrooms when school is not in session, so I already kind of have an idea of what the school situation is. I want to talk to the teachers and director of these schools to see what kind of resources they already have and are using and what resources they need. I already know that the bathroom situation is going to be a problem. All of the schools have public bathrooms, but none of them function. All toilets are clogged and it appears they’ve been that way for a while. The only problem is a plumbing project that large (EVERY community is in this situation with EVERY school—that’s 45 bathrooms with 2 to 3 toilets each) would be quite the undertaking. Not only would we need manual labor and knowledge unclogging, cleaning and repairing the plumbing, but it would also be incredibly costly. I’ll have to do some serious brainstorming before that project can actually happen. I also know that they are probably going to want an English teacher or at least help with their English program. I’m not sure what I’m going to do about that. I didn’t come here to teach English, but at the same time it would be a good in with the community and a good way to assess the schools from the inside.
I’m excited to starting doing the survey. I’m especially excited for my work with Jovenes con Vision. This weekend, a youth group from Portoviejo, Manabi invited my group of students to come and share their experiences. I got to go with them and it was an awesome trip on a lot of different levels:
1. Portoviejo is on the beach. For 3 days we got to soak up the sun and play in the ocean away from the cold sierra. This was also really neat to watch because none of the students had ever seen the ocean before. At first, they just kind of stood there in awe. The boys got in the first day, but the girls wouldn’t take off their traditional sierra garb (wool stockings, a thick wool skirt, about 4 shirts, a shawl and a hat) for anything. I don’t know how they stayed dressed that way because it was super hot. By the second day, however, they wanted to ride on one of those big bananas that they pull behind a boat, and finally stripped down a few layers. They absolutely loved it.
2. I got to learn a lot about the youth movement in Ecuador. With the new constitution of 2008, young people (ages 12-25) are guaranteed certain rights and are being encouraged more and more to be active members of society. Young people now have a voice. The problem is awareness. Not all young people are aware of their rights (especially in rural areas). It was really cool to see how the youth are going about learning their rights in Manabi. Although, it was a little odd because I am a facilitator and leader of these youth even though I myself fall into the category of youth by Ecuadorian standards. It doesn’t really seem to be a problem though. I think because I’m so drastically different from the people here (especially people from the Sierra) and that I have a college degree (which a lot of people do not have here) they just kind of assume I know what I’m doing. I have a much better understanding know of why Rosa asked me to come and help her with this project and am getting some good ideas for how to work with the group.
3. The clash of cultures was astounding. Portoviejo is a big city (it actually reminded me a lot of San Diego). The biggest city my group has ever seen is Riobamba, which is maybe a third of the size of Portoviejo. I’ve always been told that people on the Coast are very different that people from the Sierra, but never was it more evident than when the two cultures stood next to each other in the same room. The youth group from the Coast was very talkative and very outgoing. It was obvious who was a couple (they were practically making out in front of everyone) and obvious that they knew that had a voice and how to use it. My group, however, was very reserved. Some of the girls even hid their faces behind their shawls when people spoke to them because they were so shy to speak. They were wearing their traditional garb, even though it was nearly 100 degrees out. Even Rosa, who has worked with these youth for a very long time, has no idea who is going out with who. It was just so strange to see the vast difference in culture in an area just smaller than the state of Colorado.
4. I got to know my group. Because I’ve been spending so much time visiting all the different communities, I haven’t really been able to spend a lot of time in anyone community and get to know the people. At first, they would just stare at me and really wouldn’t respond to me when I asked them questions. By the end of the trip, however, they would come up to me and directly ask questions to try to get to know me. I’m definitely not “in” yet, but this trip was definitely a start. And even though they still whisper to each other about me in kichwa, I think they are starting to get the idea that I’m there to be their teacher. I was good to see them interact with each other too. Even though I have no idea what they were saying because they were speaking kichwa to each other, I realized that they really are just normal kids. Sure, they dress differently, speak a different language and have some different cultural practices, but they really just want to have fun and live their lives just like any teenager in any other part of the world.
Today, I finally have a day off (I’ve worked every single day since I got here). The rough part about our trip was that it is 12 hours there and 12 hours back. We arrived in Alausi about 1 am. I’ve just been kind of relaxing and reflecting on the trip and what I’m doing here. I’m glad that I have some ideas (at least for the next several months) and that COCACH is supportive of my ideas and recognizes the skills that I have to offer. Even though I know that the next two years are going to be very challenging, but I think they’re going to be great. I think that the communities are going to learn a lot and I’m going to learn a lot.
I miss everyone and hope that work, grad school, and life in general are well back home!