7/30/14-7/31/14 July's Volunteer of the Month

*Continuing from yesterday's blog, I thought I would share a little about my evening last night and then today's adventure!

Wednesday Evening

Yesterday evening, we had a cooking class for all the students! We made "Los llapingachos". This is a typical plate of the mountain region in Ecuador. It is potato tortillas (cheese and potatoes fried like a pancake) with chorizo sausage, fried egg and a peanut sauce. Check out all of us students cooking like Ecuadorians! 

And here is the final result! Yum!

After cooking class, we all decided to go out to the main plaza. Wednesday is "Ladies Night" in the city, especially for the tourist women. They play all sorts of American music and a lot of places don't let men in until way later in the night! It's a fun way to be emerged in the culture and have a change of scenery! Here are some pictures from the fun night we had out and about together! The night life in Ecuador is very popular and it is a great opportunity to meet people from all around the world. Last night, we talked with people from Ecuador, London, Germany, Australia, Spain, Columbia and the United States!

And of course a few silly photos!

Thursday

After a fun night, it was back to Abuelitos de Calle this morning! I took some more picture to share. I am so grateful for those of you already making donations and being so ready and willing to support the cause in any way possible! 

Today, we played Bingo! Here are some of the Abuelitos loving to play (and loving to take pictures! Every time I pull out my camera, all of the Abuelitos call me over to take pictures of them!).

Yogurt for the winners!

If anyone has a bingo set they are willing to donate, I think the Abuelitos may be due for one!

After Bingo, we did some more puzzles! 

And this Abuelita just wanted her picture taken!

Thursday and Friday are the busiest days at Abuelito de La Calle. Here are some pictures right before lunch, when the crowd is the largest, as well as pictures of the busy and crazy lunch prep for over 100!

We always try to have healthy lunches! Many times, supermarkets will bring their old fruits or vegetables to us and we will then have to cut around the bad parts and serve what we can! The staff in the kitchen works all day tirelessly to make sure that the Abuelitos can eat! For some, it is their only meal of the day!

And lunch is served!

It was another great day volunteering and I am more than excited to continue to serve and help with the Abuelitos de La Calle. 

Later Thursday

After volunteering, I came home and caught up on some work that I had to do (including buying books for fall semester!). While I was working, I received a call that I needed to go to Simon Bolivar (my school) right away. They would not tell me anything on the phone except that I needed to come to the school right away! I jumped up and made the usual fifteen minute trip to school in only ten minutes!

When I walked in, the room was filled with smiles and I was told to sit down. I was then handed this!

"Diploma for the Best Volunteer in July- Danielle Slowik- She has been an excellent volunteer for the hard work she has done in 'Abuelitos de La Calle'. This is an acknowledgement for being on time and attending every day. Danielle has shown enthusiasm and interest in the people she worked with."

Here is me and the Director of the school with my certificate. I was also given that lovely blue necklace as a gift for receiving Volunteer of the Month!

I am so honored and blessed to have received this award! I am so happy that Spirit Cultural Exchange program gave me this wonderful opportunity and I am beyond blessed that Abuelitos de La Calle has opened it's doors for me to help and share my time with them! Thank you to Simon Bolivar School for planning and organizing so much during my trip and thank you for taking the time to recognize your volunteers! 

Stay tuned for more Ecuadorian adventures and if you haven't yet, look at the blog post entitled, "How Can You Help?" and find a way to do your part to contribute to persons in Ecuador with a huge need. Challenge yourself or your community to make a world wide impact!

Love & Care, 

Danni

7/29/14-7/30/14 How Can You Help?

Hi all! Happy Wednesday! I hope all is well wherever and however you find yourself today! Here is my blog post for the last two days! Enjoy!

In the mornings, it is standard that I am up around 8:30am, have breakfast around 9am, and leave for volunteering around 9:40am to arrive promptly at 10am. I had some great fruit and bread for breakfast and then was off to volunteering! The last two days at work I have been learning more and more about the Abuelitos (seniors) and the huge need they have at Abuelitos de Calle. Because of this, it has been on my heart to share with you all (more or less 100 people) some of the ways that you may be able to help. But first, let me show you around Abuelitos de Calle through some photos. 

Here is the front of Abuelitos de Calle!

And here is a look inside! 

And of course, a tour wouldn't be complete without seeing some of the new friends I'm making here!

You may wonder which activity I am going to choose to tell you about today that the Abuelitos like. The answer is....

Coloring! One of the most loved activities of the Abuelitos is to color and draw. They spend almost two hours drawing and coloring. They each design their own masterpieces with creativity and love! The Abuelitos love to craft and work with their hands. The only problem may be a lack of supplies (Remember that there are anywhere from 80 to 100 Abuelitos each day). 

Below are some of the supplies given to the Abuelitos to use...

Colored pencils and crayons

One pencil sharpener

And look at the masterpieces that the Abuelitos still manage to make!

Nelson made that drawing for me and then insisted we have a picture together!

Another thing the Abuelitos like to do when they finish coloring (they are only allowed two coloring pages a day to to limited sheets and money to copy) is puzzles! Many times, the Abuelitos get frustrated though because there are only about four or five complete puzzles to choose from!

I was really upset after my first day of seeing this. I was so frustrated that something so simple, like coloring, could make the Abuelitos so happy, but they didn't have appropriate tools to fully enjoy their coloring. I was frustrated I didn't grab and bring the huge bin of markers and colored pencils I had laying around the house that were never used. I was frustrated I didn't think to collect activity books or coloring books which children grew out of or no longer used. I was frustrated I didn't go to the thrift store in the states and buy up 20 puzzles for the Abuelitos. When I got home later that night, I shared my frustration with my host family and something amazing happened....

 My host mom and sister took out a huge bin of old colored pencils and started sorting and sharpening them for the Abuelitos!

By the end of that, we had six bundles of colored pencils, of every color to give the Abuelitos (When I brought them today, they were so overjoyed!). This small act of kindness from my family really got me thinking. There are so many families and items that we have laying around our houses that go unused or are no longer used that could be used here! This inspired me to challenge each and every person following this blog. Below, I have a list of items that I gathered from the staff at Abuelitos of items needed. I am making a proposition. I will split the shipping cost any of these items sent from the USA to Ecuador for people willing to donate items! I hope that each person reading this will take the time and think about how simple it would be to gather a few items on this list and send them out or make a small donation so I can buy some of these things here! I hope and pray that the response and want to help will be overwhelming (I pray I will run out of money from the number of people wanting to send things!). If you would like to make a monetary donation so that I can buy some of the items here to save on shipping costs, please let me know. If you would like to gather or collect items from your home, school, or church please let me know as well, so I can get an idea of how much shipping costs will be and the range of items people are willing to donate!

Here is the list of needed items:

-Colored Pencils/Crayons/Markers
-Coloring books or Coloring Pages
-Scissors
-Newspapers/Magazines
-Yarn
-Glue
-Pencils/Pens
-Notebooks/Drawing Pads
-Colored Paper/Construction Paper/Drawing Paper
-Puzzles
-Cards (A regular deck of cards)
-Games (Simple ones! i.e. Bingo)
-Misc. Craft Supplies (i.e. Tissue Paper/Marbles/Paints/Beads)

In addition to that, other supplies that may be useful include:

-Soap
-Hand sanitizer
-Tissues
-Silverware (Metal or Plastic; HUGE NEED FOR THIS)
-Garbage Bags
-Old Towels or Rags

If you are unable to help, please keep this organization in your thoughts and prayers. There are so many wonderful people I am blessed enough to help here each day and I hope that in my next three weeks here I can make a difference that they will never forget! Keep following for more pictures and updates!

Grateful,

Danni