REAL World: Ecuador: Program Update

A brief update on programs I'm currently involved in...

*Clases de ejercicios para las mujeres*

A woman’s exercise program is in the works! After coordinating a couple meetings with the community church leaders of Tena’s Evangelical Church, we have tentatively scheduled the first class to be Thursday, Oct. 16^th. It will be held on Mondays and Thursdays every week, from 7-8pm at the church, for duration of two months. Cost is $2.00/month. (How’s that for a monthly subscription!) Holly will be leading yoga, Jocelyn stretching, and me cardio/abs (thank you Billy’s boot camp!). Do keep in mind though, that MPI has absolutely no religious affiliation. Having these classes at the church has been one of our main concerns, since we run into the problem of turning away communities not affiliated with the Tena church; however, it is rare to spur immediate vibrant interest in a program in such a short time span. Their excitement feeds our passion, and we are ready for the challenge. This program will mainly serve as a pilot, and if/WHEN successfully executed, we plan to expand it and incorporate a wider range of health topics to be discussed after Christmas break. Vamos a ver. Needless to say, this is going to be a hefty but rewarding experience.

On the first day of class, we plan to measure the participants’ physical and mental well-being, which will be qualitatively assessed through surveys and quantitatively measured through the participants’ weight, blood pressure, and heart rate. These physical measurements will be taken once every two weeks.

Most importantly (and sacrificially), the girls that will be leading the class will be making an unprecedented effort to not consume one carton of ice cream and jar of peanut butter/nutella per day, and limit to one per week (unless we are PMSing).

***UPDATE as of 7th of November, 2008***

We currently have 24 women ages 16-68 years registered for the program. 14 people showed up on the first day; 21 on the 2nd; 24 on the 3rd. This has been the most successful initial turnout in any MPIE program--que buena! The women have consistently been requesting for more classes per week as well as program continuation into the next year. Starting Nov. 17th, we'll be offering 3 classes/week, one of which will be devoted to abs (the women are obsessed with ab workouts), where Dana will be taking the reins.

General class structure is as follows (varies each day):
-10 min. stretching
-25-30 min. cardio/taebo/weights/abs
-15-20 min. yoga

According to the preliminary health assessment, a significant majority of participants indicated "nutrition" as their primary health topic interest. Thus, every class, we distribute a different handout outlining a specific nutritional topic, ie, how to read a food label; how to calculate BMI; how to measure heart rate/blood pressure and what the numbers mean; basal metabolic rate; food pyramid; caloric contents; keeping a food diary, etc. Feedback has been incredibly positive so far, and we remain optimistic.

I have to admit though, the hilarity of watching the various women doing jumping jack round-house kicks is not to be underscored. With every class, however, they are improving significantly, and really get into it along with us profes.

DALE DURO SE ACABO NO SE RINDAN USTEDES PUEDEN!!!!!!!! (work it hard that's it don't quit yes you all can!!!) -consistent words that spontaneously find their way out of my mouth

*Extensión de la clínica de salud de la Fundación Aliñambi*

Mark and I are helping to incorporate the Aliñambi clinic into the public health system through the Municipio de Quito, so the clinic can be self-sustainably open to the wider communities of the valley. The long-term goal is to make Aliñambi a public, cost-independent, and sustainable clinic with a full-time Ecuadorian medical director that serves the communities of the valley. This will be reached through short-term financial assistance from US-based Foundation Healthechildren as well as our assistance in fostering these efforts. We will be responsible for constructing a 5-year contract that outlines the specific objectives and responsibilities of Aliñambi and Healthechildren, to be signed by each party. The contract will first be revised by Aliñambi and then Healthechildren before the final version is implemented. We will continue to facilitate and maintain communication between Aliñambi and Healthechildren, aid Aliñambi in any way possible with the smooth execution of its responsibilities, and physically distribute the funds provided from Healthechildren to Aliñambi. Healthechildren has also submitted a proposal in early July 2008 to generate funds for Aliñambi (up to $460,000) under the Guess application, and is one of two finalists. We will find out within the next month the status of the application. Exciting stuff!

*Apoyo escolar*

Beginning on Monday, 9/1/08, we’ve been assisting children ages 7+ with their homework and general study habits, every Monday to Thursday, from 2:30 to 4pm at la casa barial in San Francisco. So far, we have 15 kids attending regularly, which is a good turnout, since more is expected to come after Christmas break. I think I am learning just as much, if not more, by helping the children with their deberes, from discombobulated Ecuadorian math to the country’s geographical provinces, I have had my fair share. I'm unconditionally obsessed with the kids, and have developed a deeper appreciation for abrazos y besos grandes :)

*Mingas (community projects)*

Day 1: 9/20/08 (to be posted)

Before...

Day 2: 10/4/08 (to be posted)

...50+ trash bags, 100s upon 100s of cancerous bottles, toxic fumes and a dead dog corpse after:

*Clases de ingles*

La profe Jocelyn is kept busy lesson planning for the beginner English class for adults, which takes place right before woman's exercise. Dunc, Eliah and I are the "substitute" teachers, stepping in to teach the students how to sing "I am the Walrus," "Head, shoulders knees and toes" and Fuzzy Wuzzy, to name a few.

Profes Jocelyn and Eliah in la clase de ingles: