Ecuador Day 4

Day 4 was a great day!  I think I could call each day my favorite, but this day has a slight edge over the rest.

We awoke in Cotopaxi, which is south of Quito but at a much higher elevation.  It was COLD there!  I pretty much lived in a hoodie and sometimes a fleece jacket for the next few days.  I would have never thought that I'd be cold in July, especially so close to the Equator, but those mountains keep you cool!

We started out with Blanca, who is a director at Fedice.  Blanca took us to Lisa's Angels daycare first.  Be prepared for cuteness overload!  Seriously, if I could have smuggled one of these little dolls home with me, I would have!  They were finishing breakfast when we got there so we kind of watched them and got used to each other for a little bit.  Then they got over their shyness and started interacting with us! 

Lisa's Angels Daycare

Finishing breakfast

So cold they had to wear multiple hats!

Some of the ladies donated money so that they could purchase several more high chairs.

Cutie patooties!

These two were quite the hams while playing on the playground.

Lisa's Angels building

Hanging out after eating

 Erick, our translator, took Melissa and I up to the roof to get a good view of the mountains around us!

View from roof of Lisa's Angels

Some guy was driving his cattle nearby

 The daycare fed us lunch, which consisted of pork steak, cheese, boiled potatoes, some kind of giant lima bean, and hot tea. 

Cooking the pork for our lunch

After lunch we had a presentation and then the kiddos put on a show for us!  They danced and then asked us to join in-good thing I'm not afraid to look silly!

Show time!

We then moved on to the heart of Fedice's work.  We traveled to several different communities where Fedice had provided loans to women and families.  They usually loan out $300-500 to each woman and then the women are expected to repay their loan within one year.  They pay 1% interest each month on their loan.  With this money, they usually purchase animals that they breed and sell.

Devotion at one of the Fedice projects

After the first meeting, we visited several houses where they showed us their animals.  They were so proud to show off their hard work!

Proudly showing off her pig

Cute little house

Piglets-all I could think of is Babe-la la la lala!

Beautiful views!

Poor chicken knows what is coming her way!

 Guinea pig is a food source in Ecuador-none of us were brave enough to try it though.  It would be like eating a pet!

Cuy, or guinea pigs

Bunnies!

The second community we visited was repaying their loan.  Blanca and Marco, who both work for Fedice, counted the money to make sure it was all accounted for and there were no fake bills.  That was a little nerve wracking!  What if there had been money missing?  Fortunately, it was all there and accounted for!

Repaying their loans

Cutest little man ever!  I wanted to bring him home and sit him in the corner of my living room.  He was so cute!

 This project fed us dinner-chicken soup.  The soup was a broth with rice, cilantro, and a chicken leg sticking out!  Then we were served a ball of mashed plantains, pork, and cheese.  Definitely, not my favorite thing.  Judging by this picture and the sounds June was making, she wasn't a fan either!

June pretending to like her plantain/pork/cheese ball

 Blanca and Marco were great guides for the day.  Marco's wife joined us at the last project for dinner. 

Blanca, Marco, and Marco's wife

There was a lot crammed into this day, but it was very rewarding.  The kids were adorable and the people of Fedice were so welcoming, warm, and hard working!  After some Go Fish, I headed to bed exhausted!

Ecuador Part Tres

Day 3 began with a typical breakfast in Ecuador: fresh squeezed juice, scrambled eggs, fresh fruit, and bread.

After quickly eating, we were picked up by Helen. Helen is a member of Advent St. Nicholas and also works with CIF (Centre Integral de la Familia). First stop was the San Jose de Moran project.  This is housed within a church and provides an after school center for kids.  If it weren't for this project, these kids would often go without a meal and wander the streets waiting for their mom or parents to get home from work.  Parents often have to travel 2 hours each way to and from work so the kids are left to fend for themselves.  San Jose gives the kids a meal, helps them with their homework, provides testing for disabilities, and also provides counseling for kids and families. 

Kiddos that were playing in the street when we pulled up to the San Jose de Moran project site

One of the classrooms at San Jose

Counseling room at San Jose

Church that houses San Jose

From there we went down the road to a daycare center.  These kids were so cute!  We were greeted with a round of HOLA!

Daycare center near San Jose de Moran

Cute little kids at the daycare

Just wanted to take all of these adorable kids home with me!

That room had a long row of matching pink high chairs.

Adorable little girl-she had beautiful eyes!

After tearing ourselves away from the precious little ones at the daycare, we visited the area they take kids if there are too many to house at the church.  They have turned these warehouses into classrooms so that kids can do homework.

When there is overflow at the San Jose project, they come to these old warehouses to do their homework.

They may not have much, but they have a futball field!

We piled back into the van and headed to the CIF center.  This is where the majority of CIF's work happens.  It is a counseling center that provides counseling to couples, families, interviews and counsels kids that have been abused, works with different schools, provides workshops for different groups, and houses a masters in counseling program.  Whew!  Lots of important work in this building!!

One of the kids rooms at CIF

Me in the lobby of CIF

Listening to the presentation and getting ready for lunch!

Gorgeous CIF building.  The architecture was amazing!

When we finished our tour we headed back to the Charles Darwin to pack our luggage and were picked up for the hour or so drive south to Cotopaxi.  This is where we spent the next three days. 

Ecuador Part 2

Here we go with Day 2!  We were up bright and early and ready to sight see!  We had a free morning and decided to hit up Old Town, which is the historic part of Quito.  Our trusty translator was in charge of getting us there and he decided we'd take the trolle, which is basically like our bus system.  That was an experience!  So crowded and Ecuadorians don't have personal space.  Poor Sue got her wallet stolen this day and we think it was on the trolle!

Anyhoo, Old Town was beautiful!  So many pretty trees and churches and buildings.  Below are just a few of the pics I took.  Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures in the churches we toured, but they were incredible!  Gold everywhere and so ornate!

Me in Old Town in what I lovingly called my beekeeper hat

Statue in Old Town

Beautiful trees in Quito

Top of one of the churches in Old Town

Stone work

While we were there, the President had opened his quarters for a tour.  We didn't stand in the enormous line, but these uniformed men on horses were there.  Not quite sure what their purpose was, but they looked cool!

Official people there for the President's event

Women in traditional clothing

We walked A LOT this day!  We walked up a really long hill to see the unfinished church. They say it will never be finished because when it is completed taxes will have to be paid to Rome.  We paid $2 to go up in the church.  Well, I went most of the way up.  To go all of the way I had to go up a ladder and then some scary stairs so I opted to not do that!

Unfinished basilica

View from unfinished basilica

Amazing view of Quito

Window in the church

After we survived walking around Old Town, we loaded back on the trolle.  This time we went to a local mall to eat at the food court.  I did not choose wisely and was not that interested in my sandwich.  After lunch we started toward the Kiwanis club.  Ecuador has one women's Kiwanis club and these incredible women run the Chuquiragua group.  This is a group of young women that the Kiwanis sponsor going to high school.  They also sponsor some young ladies going to college.  This program gives disadvantaged young women the chance to better themselves as they also provide workshops for these young women.  The poise, grace, and kindness of both the older and younger women was amazing!

Visiting with the Chuquiragua Girls while at the Women's Kiwanis club

By the time I finished blubbering with the Chuqis, we went back to the hotel.  The older ladies and Erick went for dinner, but Melissa and I weren't hungry so we stayed behind.  That night Melissa and I taught Erick how to play Go Fish.  It became a theme for the week as we played pretty much every night in Ecuador.  It was an easy to learn game that didn't take too much time.  By the end of the week, we had sucked multiple people in to playing with us!

And that concludes Day 2!