| Volunteer Name: | Andrea N. |
| Project Attended: | Education Outreach for Child Workers in the Markets |
| Country Attended: | Ecuador |
| Can you tell us a bit more about your role on the project? | We would go to different low income markets around the Southern part of the city. In these markets we would gather all the children that were let by their parents or who weren’t working to come and play with us. Ranging from 6 months to 15 years of age there were all types of games and ways to entertain these kids. After an hour or so of playing we would have a lesson. As a volunteer we were just supposed to give our love and be able to teach these children what they can’t learn day to day. |
| What were the highlights? | Being able to put a crying baby to sleep, being hugged for an hour straight by young girls, playing hide and seek; there are too many good highlights to be able to just name one. The main highlight would be just seeing the smiling faces on these little kids as they saw the team walking up to the parking lots of these markets to play. |
| How do you feel that you benefitted personally from taking part in the project? | I was able to learn a lot about the culture of Quito as well as a lot about myself. I realized when taking care of these kids the happiness and love that beamed from them and how even though they had almost next to nothing they would always share. |
| How has the experience affected you? | I will never forget my time in Ecuador. Even though I was only able to be there for a short 2 weeks I was still able to learn so much about myself and about the country. I was able to see how much these kids need organizations to help them, inspiring me to try and create something similar when I’m older. |
Testimonial
“As a volunteer you are able to feel more integrated into the society, as a tourist you learn about the culture but you never really connect with the city.”
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