Life at Yachay Wasi

Our first two weeks in Quito have proven to be more rewarding than we anticipated. We have been working at Yachay Wasi from Monday through Friday and we have already gained an understanding on their vision, their culture, and their overall mentality. Their traditions as indigenous people is beautiful and heart warming; knowing that they have been discriminated and ostracized against in the past is a total travesty. It blows my mind that these people are the direct descendants of the Inca-Empire, and yet they have to go through so much bureaucratic nonsense to be a certified school, i.e. paper work and visits from government officials. Their budget for snacks during the school day have been cut off, their llamas have been taken away, and they are always getting threatened if they do not obied by the rules.

Working with the children is so rewarding, learning about their individual situations and what predicaments they must overcome as adolescents amazes us. Our donated materials such as dental supplies and sports equipment made such an impact and improvement on their lives. As well as the dental supplies and sport equipment, they are thoroughly enjoying the art supplies, school supplies, books, and most of all, our presence. They are always calling us "machi" which means friend in the Kichwa language.

One major project that we want to continue is adding on to their library. We have advanced their library by about 50 books and we plan on continuing to give them more as the future progresses. Some of the kids are illiterate, so these narratives will make a major difference in their lives when it comes to finding work and leading functional lives. Another project that we plan on pursuing in the future is "Sponsor-a-Yachay". Each student will be individually assigned a buddy from Maine to communicate with through letters, gifts, and potentially monthly donations to improve their living qualities at home.

Currently the major project that we are working on is the mural, representing their indigenous ancestry and our culture in Coastal-Maine. As well as painting everyday, we also have other activities for them, such as: origami, singing songs, making homemade play dough, cooking, writing stories, English lessons, number games, photography, arts and crafts, as well as numerous hours spent at the park playing soccer and frisbee; their favorite. But above all else, our biggest accomplishment is purchasing school-uniforms for the kids to wear everyday during school. We have been fundraising for months prior to this trip, and we have raised enough to buy these uniforms for over $1,300.

As well as volunteering, we are taking Spanish lessons to improve our communication with them. This volunteering excursion has been very successful and there is no doubt in my mind that this will continue through other students for years to come.