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Apoyo Escolar
Apoyo Escolar is an after-school homework help
program aimed at improving our students' study habits and skills.
Serving children between the ages of 7 and 14, Apoyo Escolar meets
Monday-Thursday from 2:30-4 in the Casa Barrial, the local community
house. Subjects include mathematics, language, social studies,
English, geography, and sciences. Starting this fall, we will partner
with university students from central Quito in running the course.
Women's Aerobic and Yoga Class (beginning mid October, 2008)
Held
biweekly, the Women's Aerobic and Yoga Class is open to mothers and
daughters in the San Franciscan, Tena, and Rumiloma communities. The
course combines a 40 minute aerobic workout with 20 minutes of cool
down Yoga stretches. Emphasizing healthy life habits and increased
awareness of one's physical potential, the class also serves as an
enclave for women to connect with one another and enjoy a break from
their daily work as family matriarchs. Added bonus: the Manna boys
will be offering free child care during the hour.
Micro-finance Program
MPIE works in conjunction with the
local financial cooperative, Esperanza y Progreso del Valle (Hope and
Progress of the Valley), which has a dual financial / social purpose.
Re-investing a good percentage of their profits directly back into the
community, the cooperative has a strong micro-credit component to their
organization. Because of our faith in the methodology of the co-op, we
are working to strengthen the institution by helping it join the
biggest Ecuadorian network of micro-finance institutions known as the
Red Financiera Rural (The Rural Financial Network).
Small Business Course
Partnered with the cooperative and
the Center for Innovation and Small Business Development at a local
university, MPI organizes intensive classes to start-up entrepreneurs
in the community. Numbering between 15 and 30 participants, the classes
teach men and women ages 20 – 40 basic business skills. Covering topics
such as entrepreneurial characteristics, formulation of business ideas,
marketing, creation of a business plan, and financing, the class covers
all aspects necessary to start a small business. As a final project,
participants create actual business plans, evaluated by the leaders of
the cooperative Esperanza and Progreso del Valle. MPIE has arranged
that successful participants receive a micro-loan from the cooperative
in order to start up their small business.
Aliñambi Summer Camp (limited to summer)
Partnering with
Aliñambi, a local school, home for neglected kids, health clinic and
recycling center, Manna volunteers staff a two week summer camp for
children in the neighboring communities. Offering classes in English,
math, art, geography, health and sports (and if they're lucky, a baking
day in the kitchen), the summer camp provides new volunteers a chance
to get used to structuring, planning, and directing classes.
English Class (beginning mid October, 2008)
This
beginner's level English course is targeted mainly at adults but open
to anyone who exhibits interest in the three communities around which
we work. Held two times a week, the class is focused on establishing
basic fluency by working on grammar, vocabulary and daily
colloquialisms. Come January 2009 the program is slated to expand into
multiple classes depending on skill level of participants.
Mingas (throughout the year)
Throughout the year, MPIE
works alongside community leaders to initiate, plan, and recruit locals
to take part in various Mingas. An Andean tradition, the Minga today
stands as a neighborhood-wide project aimed at identifying a specific
community need and working together to revitalize that area. Past
projects have included repainting the Casa Barrial (local community
house), renovating the local playground, and removing thousands of
bottles from the local river. Future projects include helping to pave
a new street and building a community house in neighboring Tena.
Teenage Girls Art Class (in planning stage)
A drawing and
painting course open to teenage girls between the ages of 15 to 20, the
class aims to encourage the exploration of creative modes of thinking
and the development of artistic knowledge. Slated to begin
mid-October, the class will teach practices ranging from basic
sketching techniques to oil paint mixing theory, while working toward
two final paintings and the planning of a local mural.
Agricultural/Recycling Learning Center (in planning stage)
As
identified in the community assessment surveys distributed by MPIE and
Aliñambi in the spring of 2008, there is interest amongst the community
in learning nuanced farming practices aimed at increasing productivity
while diminishing environmental damage. To that end, MPIE has begun
the process of planning an agricultural learning center, incorporating
classes on organic farming practices, composting, and recycling.
Public Library Creation (in planning stage)
Amazingly,
the Chillos Valley, population 130,000 and home to MPIE, has no public
lending library. MPIE has begun the process of accumulating books for
a seedling library while simultaneously searching out space for the
library to be held. Invested in ensuring the library's sustainability
after our initial investment, MPIE is working alongside the local
Cooperative EPV to insure that the library remains a community asset
without outside involvement.
Aliñambi Health Clinic Expansion
Fundación Aliñambi,
which runs a low-cost school and a home for children from difficult
family situations, has wanted for some time to open their small family
clinic to the surrounding neighborhoods. By facilitating the
partnership between Aliñambi and the HealtheChildren Foundation, a
US-based non-profit organization, MPIE is working to provide quality
medical care to the Chillos Valley as a whole through the expansion of
the clinic.
Ecuadorian University Campus Chapter
Development
In order to contribute to a culture
of volunteering among Ecuador's elite and helping bridge the gap between
Ecuador's richest and poorest, MPIE has begun incorporate students from
UDLA and Universidad Salesianas into our programs and projects, starting
in the fall with Apoyo Escolar. Ultimately we hope to develop
campus chapters modeled after our chapters at US universities and build
an international team of US and Ecuadorian volunteers.
Job Skills Workshops
In the community assessment surveys
undertaken in the spring of 2008, we asked respondents what skills and
abilities they would like to learn or teach to others. After reading
through their responses, MPIE and Aliñambi have begun working together
to instigate eight-week talleres workshops connecting the two groups
and structured in a way which allows community members themselves to
be the instructors. The first taller slated to begin in mid October
is a course in sewing and embroidery, with others still in the planning
process.
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