A Journey to South America...: Week 6 - Ecuador / Quito

Project - Casa Hogar (Orphanage), Fundación Esperanza / Camp Hope.

"Mission: To reach the needs of the economically, physically and mentally challenged children, teens, and young adults in order to enable them to attain the goals of independence and social integration. We provide: Education, Medical Services, Spiritual Discipleship, Rehabilitation, Vocational Training.

In Ecuador, the reality is that many families of handicapped children lack the economic resources and education to adequately care and provide for their children. Unfortunately these circumstances result in the abandonment of many handicapped children. The Camp Hope Foundation currently assists 16 of these children through a small orphanage called “Casa Hogar”, which is led by its own program coordinator. Trained stuff takes care of the children, aiming to make them feel at home and helping them with their daily needs. The Camp Hope Foundation hopes to add a new floor soon in order to help more orphaned children."

Contacts:

Fundación Esperanza

Carcelén Alto

Calle Juan Barrezueta N77-298 y Av. Juan de Selis

Casilla 17-17-675

Quito, Ecuador

Telephone: 593-02-472 754 or: 593-02-479 846
Website: http://www.camphopeecuador.org/en-welcome

Email: administration@camphopeecuador.org

Donations:

Bank: Banco Bolivariano

Name: Fundación Campamento Cristiano Esperanza.

Acc # 500500957-1

Please DO take a few minutes to watch this video, and kindly make a donation - there are US bank account details for anyone making transfers from the US:

I arrived in Quito on a Sunday, by plane from Bogotá. I'd be staying for a week at a local family, who usually rent their rooms to volunteers from abroad. As I arrived at the airport, the father of the family came to pick me up, and we connected right away!

We then went to the flat to meet the mum, and the rest of the family. Lovely family!

The next day, I went to meet with the local coordinator and they took me to the orphanage where I was going to be working for the week. Two buses and 1-hour commute later, we arrived at the Orphanage, and to my surprise, I found that the children were all mainly mentally and physically challenged.

It was a huge shock for me, as I didn't expect it and had had no information about it prior my arrival. I left the first day in tears and with my heart on my throat.

I wasn't prepared at all to work with challenged children, had no training or previous experience neither - so I felt totally misplaced and useless to be honest.

Nonetheless, I decided to carry on the week at this orphanage, as I instantly fell in love by all of the children and also the wonderful and kind caretakers.

I learnt many many wonderful things by spending time with them, and at the end I realised that you don't need to be a doctor or a therapist to be able to help these children - I brought them tons of positive energy, stories, company, lots of love and hugs... and smiles! When you see these children smile(which is very rare) is like having a ray of sunshine warm up your body & soul in a clear blue sky day!

After a week working at the Casa Hogar, I can tell you that it was here that I experienced one of the most beautiful and rewarding moments in my life thus far: I managed to interact with an autistic child like none of the caretakers had managed before.

Then, on my last day, as I was saying my goodbyes to everyone, this autistic child grabbed both my hands and pulled me towards him, in order not to let me go….

Words cannot describe how I felt in this moment, instant tears running through my face (still happens every time I tell the story!).

This was only possible with the precious help of a family friend at the house I was staying, who happened to be a Psychologist specialised in Autism, and who kindly gave me a few tips.

The staff working at this Orphanage are true heroes. They battle everyday, for a lifetime. Some children are there since they were little or even born, and are now 20-over years old, and some caretakers have been there with them every step of the way. It is both mentally, but mainly physically draining to work with challenged children - I really don't know how they manage, and still you always see a smile on their face.

And the food!!! OMG the food! Absolutely delicious! They had the best Ecuadorian chef in that kitchen I kid you not! Every day we had a different dish, and you couldn't have enough of it it was so good. Not to wonder children were always excited about lunch-time, so were we!! :)

Here are some photos of these wonderful children and the activities we carried out with them:

During my time off and weekend, I also managed to visit around Quito. We had to be extremely careful and always aware of our surroundings, so by the time I left the city, I was exhausted from being tense all the time, as it just didn't feel safe.

There wasn't enough police surveillance I thought (compared to Colombia for example), and everyone is always telling you to be on the lookout - as a consequence Quito (and also Guayaquil) were the places where I felt the most insecure in this whole trip.

Here go some photos of Quito, La Mitad del Mundo and the amazing views from Pichincha Volcano.

Typical dish for Easter

Without a warning, it started pouring down with rain and everything was flooded in seconds!

Yes they do love their churches here….. :O

Banana market…?

La Mitad del Mundo

This actually is the FAKE "mitad del mundo" - so don't even bother going there, total waste of time and money.

This was the real one, just 200 mts after the fake one.

Loooove this place, I've never felt any thinner!! :)

I made the egg balance! And also got a diploma for it...! ;p

Pichincha Volcano

All the way at the bottom, Cotopaxi Mountain

Cotopaxi Mountain - a stratovolcano in the Andes Mountains, located about 50 km south of Quito.
It is the second highest summit in the country, reaching a height of 5,897 m.