Project Ecuador

Project Ecuador
Giving Hope and a Future

Friday 24 January 2014

Home Education



A few months ago I wrote about my fears and reasons for starting to home educate my girls.  Now, six months down the line I am so glad I am doing it: most of all because I now have the time to teach them the things they want to know.  What better way to inspire a lifelong curiosity and thirst for learning than that? 
My eyes have been opened to the opportunities for education that present themselves every day.  I am now alert and ready to investigate the answers with them.  Take Wednesday for example.  We were in town and I had to get a permit from the Fire Station for the health centre.  Before, I would have dreaded taking the girls along to do this waiting-in-a-queue job.  The girls would have been wriggling and climbing up the walls of the Fire Station.  Not this time.  This time we looked at the ambulance that was parked in the entrance while we waited.  I took the chance to explain what the Firemen do and the kind of emergencies they attend.  Once I had the permit I needed we had a peek through the railings at the back and spotted the bunk beds and uniforms hanging up and talked about there being Firemen on duty day and night.  We found the phone number we would have to dial if there were a fire and examined the fire extinguishers on display in the shop.  The girls were fascinated. 
Next my five year old asked why there were so many posters of men and women around the town.  I spent the twenty minute walk to ballet class explaining about the upcoming Mayor elections in Santo Domingo.  Not entirely sure they had understood we then had a Barbie Mayor election the next day during “homeschool”.  They both made posters for their candidates (design and writing), made speeches about what they were going to do for Barbie town, (English and Spanish vocab), made voting papers, all the Barbies voted and then we counted the votes up to see who had won (maths).  My five year old then built a fabulous play park with her Barbie who was voted as Mayor, and my three year old an orphanage (she was deputy Mayor).  We all loved it and learned loads. 
Today we learnt while making chocolates in molds.  We read instructions, weighed out ingredients, counted down from thirty with the microwave a few times and talked about melting and solidifying.  It is brilliant.  And best of all they have plenty of time left over to simply play with the village children.  Time they did not have when attending school. 
I wonder what the next topic will be?        

Saturday 18 January 2014

Happiness is....

I wrote my first blog over a year and a half ago sitting in the telephone company office, waiting to request a landline for the umpteenth time. 

A week ago we had our landline installed at last, and two days ago the internet was connected. 

I have lost count how many contracts we signed, how many trips to the telephone office we made, how many times they anulled our petition.  But it was worth persisting in the end. 

To start with they said there was a line available, but every time the technician went to connect it he said it was a damaged number and would not work. 

Then they admitted there were no functioning numbers available. We had to wait until they fixed one.  

A month ago Vladimir spotted workmen up the pole near our house.  He went to chat to them and found out they were at last fixing the problem.  We immediately requested a phone line again.  This time the technician came but took one look at the river he had to take the line across to our house and scarpered, cancelling our request AGAIN.  Such is Ecuadorian efficiency and work-ethic.  

Vladimir went to the boss.  He promised to come and connect the line himself... but of course he did not.  Vladimr went to see him again and he did send his workmen that very day.  This time they braved the river and did their job and installed the phone.  I danced around the living room! 

Yesterday we experienced what having the internet connection at home means to us, living as we do, thousands of miles away from my family in the UK. 

From the comfort of our living room we dialled my sister on skype.  My girls were bouncing with excitement at the prospect of seeing their baby cousin.  To our delight both my sisters were there and little Sebastian babbled delightfully to my girls.  Then my sister in law came to join the gathering with her two little ones.  It was such a wonderful scene;  My niece reading her book, my nephew smiling away, my other nephew chatting insessantly... and we could join in. 

Happiness is skype.