Volunteering Full-Time

Mike starts volunteering full-time tomorrow! He's done with his Spanish lessons for now, and he's saying different phrases and vocabulary. I'm going to teach him some more conversational Spanish, since he wants to volunteer full-time now with the kids!

I am just so amazed by these kids day after day. Being here with them really puts things into perspective. We meet at the volunteer office at 8:30 in the morning, and then each day we go to a different market in South Quito. By the time we arrive, the families are already selling their goods and are ready for the day. They sell vegetables, fruits, meat, chicken, fish, spices, bags, jewelry, ice cream, used clothes, electronics, pets, live chickens, etc. After working all day, the average amount the families take home is only $5, figuring the amount they spend on transportation and food. I can't even imagine...

As soon as we get to our area, we set up a place for the kids to play once they arrive, which is always a few plastic mats to put legos, books, and puzzles. At one market we need to put up a tent to block the sun or rain. Then I go with Danny or Christina, the lead teachers, to pick up the kids that will join us for the day. We usually have about 20-50 kids, and about 3-5 older students who get homework help. The lead teachers and I go through the market, and talk with the families and see if the kids would like to come with us to play for a few hours in the morning until lunch. Danny and Christina have built the trust and great relationships with the families, and sometimes there are even new kids that join us. We take attendance each day too. Danny asks the kids what their names are and how old they are. Last week we played games to practice answering these questions, since many of them don't know how to respond--Another reality check. Sometimes we take kids that are very little, but the majority of kids that we have been working with recently (since school started) are between the ages of three and four. I have really enjoyed working with this age group! I'm learning that the best way to get their attention is by singing, and I've learned so many new songs! 

Once the kids arrive, they wash their hands and face, and then play on the mats until all of the kids have arrived. Sometimes the parents drop their kids off, but most of them we pick up. After they play on the mats or play soccer, frisbee, jumprope, and tag, we get in a big circle and sing songs and do little group dances in the circle. Then we have everyone sit on the mats and do a whole group activity, which usually involves a puppet or the kids taking turns singing in front of the group. They are adorable! Then we break the kids up into small groups according to age, and they do an activity involving crafts, drawing, or coloring. Sometimes we do English lessons during this time, but so far it's been arts and crafts. For the littlest ones, it's building on their fine motor skills, and for all of the kids it's teaching them to work on something until it's completed, so they feel a sense of pride. After this, they line up and sing the goodbye song, and we take them back to their parents for lunch. After lunch, we do a similar routine and usually there are more kids, because more of the older ones are done with school by that time. From what I understand, primary school students can choose to go to school in the afternoon or in the morning, and more go in the morning it seems. 

When I take the kids back to their parents is when I notice how little attention many of these kids get from their families. Let me say that at three-years-old I would have never been able to find my way around those markets back to my parents, yet these kids do it because they have no other option. Sometimes I can't even tell if they have found their way back to the right spot, because their families don't acknowledge that they've come back. :( This is why I am soooo glad that they have the opportunity to come play with us. They soak up the love and praise. They find the volunteers and show each of us their artwork, and you can see their faces light up when they're told "Good job!" What a privilege this is to be able to be here with these little angels; God has a plan for each one of them. Jesus said, "Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." Luke 12:6-7