Top Takeaways for a Manna Project Program Director

Being a Manna Project Program Director and working with underserved communities in Ecuador has been such a challenging, yet rewarding and incredible experience. After finishing my time with Manna Project in Ecuador, there are infinite things that I have learned about myself, international development, Ecuador, and more. Here are some of my top takeaways from my experience with Manna Project:

8. Patience

Part of moving abroad to any country or region is adjusting to all the cultural differences that you might not be used to from home. One of those major cultural differences between the United States and countries in Latin America is the difference in punctuality and scheduling. Here a meeting that was scheduled for 9:30 might not start until 10:00, or a bus might be an hour late and no one would think twice about it. Living in Ecuador and adjusting to this change has made me much more patience, and I've even come to see the beauty in taking my time doing things that matter, and enjoying the day.

Beyond just patience with cultural differences like punctuality, I have also learned how to be more patience with myself and others. Adjusting to a new culture, a new language, and a new environment can be emotionally draining, and I've learned throughout that process to give myself the time and space I need to respond well to difficult situations.

7. Becoming a Leader

There are endless leadership opportunities that Program Directors have during their time with Manna Project. From leading programs solo or with a group of fellow Program Directors or short-term volunteers, to leading and developing new events and projects, there is no doubt that Program Directors will take away new leadership skills no matter what! One of the most meaningful leadership experiences for me has been leading short-term volunteer Spring Break groups. Before leading my first group I had never worked on budgets or managed short-term volunteers before, but my diving in headfirst I learned new skills and gained confidence in my own leadership abilities.

The Spring Break 2015 volunteers from Vanderbilt University that I led worked on various project during their time in Ecuador, including working on a mural at a local preschool.

6. Meeting Like-Minded People

When incoming Program Directors gather in Miami in July for their orientation, they meet a group of strangers that are about to become their best friends and companions in their unique experience of living and volunteering abroad with Manna Project. It is an incredible feeling to be surrounded by like-minded people experiencing the same things as you: you will find in your fellow PDs support, encouragement, travel buddies, and life-long friends.

5. Travel, Travel, Travel!

Before coming to Ecuador I had already traveled a lot in Latin America, but spending a year living in Ecuador gave the chance to truly see everything the country has to offer. While I focused on traveling throughout Ecuador, other PDs use the opportunity to travel to places like Machu Picchu, Colombia, Patagonia, and other locations in Latin America that are unmissable. Ecuador and the rest of South America are so rich in beautiful beaches, soaring mountains, ancient ruins, and more, and using Ecuador as a home base for your travels is an incredible way to see it all.

One of South America's most beautiful sights, the Quilotoa Crater Lake in Ecuador! 

4. Learning (or Mastering!) a New Language

Being immersed in Spanish during your time with Manna Project will help you grow leaps in bounds, whether you arrive on-site as a beginner or already knowing a lot of Spanish! That's not to say that it won't be challenging to become fluent- it requires a lot of hard work and dedication whether you are studying it in college or living abroad and using it every day. However, being able to speak Spanish daily and learn new words and phrases from your new friends will help you immensely! Your Spanish skills will help you develop relationships with community members, and is a skill you can take with you wherever you go after your time with Manna Project comes to an end.

3. Professional Development Opportunities

My time with Manna Project has helped me grow from being a recent college graduate into a confident young professional. Manna Project offers Program Directors the opportunity to get involved in organizational roles like grant research and writing, social media, volunteer recruitment, and much more. I am leaving Manna Project feeling confident that I have the skills to help me find an impactful job in the non-profit sector. Check out this video where I talk more about the professional development opportunity for Manna Project Program Directors.

2. Cross-Cultural Relationships

One of the most precious aspects of the Program Director experience is certainly the ability to work closely with community members and form meaningful relationships with them. The community members we work with are always so inviting to Program Directors and strive to make them feel welcomed in the community. Incoming Program Directors spend time in homestays when they first arrive on-site, and often become close with their homestay families for the rest of their time there. I will miss the MPI community members I have gotten to know while I have been in Ecuador, along with other friends I have made along the way. Having built so many relationships here has made my experience so much more meaningful, but it also makes leaving very bittersweet!

In Ecuador, locals celebrate the Carnival holiday by taking to the streets and "playing," spraying each other with water, throwing eggs, flour, and colored dies, and playing with small fire extinguisher-like canisters that spray foam everywhere!

1. You'll Never Be the Same!

As corny as it may sound, your year in Ecuador or Nicaragua with Manna Project will stay with you forever. The experience of living abroad, the experience of working in community development, the experience of traveling and speaking a different language...they are all unique experiences that will change you forever. You will learn so much about yourself, others, and the world around you that you will never forget, and you will always have a different outlook on life because of it. To our incoming Program Directors and all those to come in the future...savor every minute of your experience! It will be one of the best, most impactful years of your life!

Apply today to be a Program Director in Ecuador or Nicaragua!

What is a Senior Program Director?

Manna Project International's long-term volunteers are called Program Directors, reflecting their role  in developing, leading, and managing all aspects of education, health, and livelihoods programs. While most Program Directors commit to staying in Ecuador or Nicaragua for between 5- and 13-months, others from both sites choose to stay for even longer. A Senior Program Director is a Program Director that has been chosen to stay for an additional year with MPI, focusing their second year on a specific on-site project, as well working with MPI staff in the States on a specific organizational role, such as volunteer recruitment, communications, or fundraising.

As Senior Program Director in Ecuador, I've had the opportunity in my second year of service with Manna Project to specialize my work, focusing in on the specific aspects of non-profit management that I'm interested in learning more about and skills I want to develop further. While part of the beauty of being a Program Director is the opportunity to experience managing a vast array of different types of programs and work on different types of organizational rules in a non-profit, I've enjoyed being able to dig deeper in certain organizational roles that I've been interested in.

Here I am leading one of our first entrepreneurship classes. Our graduates have a 100% success rate, going on to find jobs in their field or start their own small businesses.

My on-site program this year has been growing our livelihoods programming by focusing on developing entrepreneurship classes in developed in conjunction with our partner Education Global Access Program (E-Gap). Developing this new partnership and seeing our livelihoods programming evolve over my two years with MPI has been an extremely rewarding experience. Additionally, I have also devoted efforts on-site to working closely with our Country Director in all aspects of volunteer management and training, for Program Directors, summer interns, and short-term groups.

The organizational role that I was most interested in exploring further with MPI was our grant-writing and fundraising, and I have learned so much about it this year. I have been involved in writing 5 different grants, as well as organizing site visits for grant-giving organizations, working on writing grant reports, and participating in our different fundraising efforts. Additionally, I was able to gain more experience with all aspects of Manna Project's communications and social media by developing Ecuador-specific content across all our social media channels.

Beyond the incredible experiences I've gained through my time as a Senior Program Director with Manna Project, staying a second year in Ecuador has been an incredible opportunity to get to know Ecuadorian culture even more, and continue to enjoy living in Latin America. After a year I felt I was just finally starting to feel at home in Sangolqui, and I couldn't imagine uprooting myself and moving back to the States, or moving on to a different community within Ecuador. I now know our communities here inside and out, and consider Ecuador to be my home. The aspects of Ecuadorian culture that at first seemed strange to me and even caused me culture shock are now things I am entirely accustomed to and even enjoy. I continue to surprise myself every single day with how well I have adjusted to Ecuador and how much I have learned as a young professional and as a person over these past two years.

This photo was taken at our Bienvenida / Despedida party at the MPI community center. This is Yeimmy, one of my E-Gap entrepreneurship class students, with her daughter Violeta. Yeimmy's business is growing quickly, and she expressed that she uses information she learned in our classes almost every single day.

My former English student, Alexandra, at our Bienvenida / Despedida party. To learn more about her story, check out this video I made about her family's involvement in our programs.

While the Senior Program Director position isn't for everyone, it's something I would recommend to all Program Directors to keep in mind and carefully consider as they think about their time after Manna Project. Just as being a first-year Program Director is challenging yet extremely rewarding, so is the Senior Program Director position. It will help you reach your personal and professional goals, and experience the country you've grown to know and love even more deeply than you could after just 13-months.

Check out this video to learn more about professional development opportunities with Manna Project International, and learn a little more about my experience as a Senior Program Director.

Community Member Spotlight: Clemencia

One of the many incredible community members that MPI Ecuador Program Directors get to interact with and learn from on a daily basis is Clemencia, who over the past year has become current Program Director's "Ecuadorian grandma" and holds a special place in all our hearts.

Former Program Director Alex, with Clemencia and her family at Clemencia's home in Amaguaña, Ecuador.

Clemencia is from the community of Amaguaña in the Los Chillos Valley, and has been a valued friend of Manna Project International for several years. When she was diagnosed with diabetes, she didn’t know where to turn for help or information about her diagnosis. Since she began attending the Diabetes Club run by Manna Project in partnership with the Sangolqui Hospital she has learned how to make healthier eating choices, and how to incorporate more exercise into her daily life. As the head of the Diabetes Club she has also gained more self-confidence and leadership abilities that have helped her overcome machismo stereotypes and become a leader in her community.

One of MPI Ecuador's major points of focus this past year has been on continuing to deepen relationships with individuals like Clemencia. By taking this focus, we have seen that Clemencia and many other community members have also stepped up and helped Manna Project in immeasurable ways. The involvement of community members in helping guide the direction of Manna Project programming, special events, and more has helped us expand our impact and form prosperous new relationships. Community members such as Clemencia and her sister, Blanca, helped prepare and serve food at our recent fundraising event, the Hornado Solidario, and also search for donations to keep costs down and raise as much money as possible for Manna Project programs.

Program Directors and Summer Interns at Clemencia's home in Amaguaña, Ecuador.

Summer Intern Lindsay at Clemencia's home in Amaguaña, Ecuador.

I can't imagine Manna Project International in Ecuador without Clemencia! Her smile and positive attitude are infectious, and her disposition to always help, guide, and support Program Directors is one that makes the transition to Ecuador much easier...and leaving much harder!

5K for Books: Running with Manna Project

On Saturday, July 2nd, Manna Project International in Ecuador hosted its annual 5K race for members of the community of Rumiloma and the surrounding areas. Preparation for the race included everything from making a balloon arch for the finish line, to searching for sponsors for the event, and getting the municipal government to block the roads...but in the end, seeing the excitement of the participants make everything worth it!

Over 100 runners showed up to the race to support Manna Project and run the race, with family and friends looking on. Many participants had shown up to Manna Project 5K races for years and were looking to beat their times from previous years! New participants attended after hearing about the race through our partnerships with local organizations like ESPE University, the United Nations Peacekeepers, and more.

At the end of the event, Country Director Nancy and one of our local volunteers, Pancho, handed out prizes and medals to winners in their categories, and runners and spectators enjoyed a performance from the Municipal Band. Community members, Program Directors, and summer interns also enjoyed a 4th of July barbeque on the roof of the community center afterwards, in celebration of their hard work to make wonderful community event a success.

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Going with the Flow in Baños

“Tengo una buena noticia y una mala noticia…” I have good news and bad news.

These were the words that were communicated to me as I stood in the crowded, dark office of an adventure tour agency in Baños. I woke up that morning ready and excited to go canyoning—repelling down waterfalls and rocky cliff faces. For days, I had been trying to convince my fellow interns to go with me—that it would be an amazing time—but only managed to convince one friend to join me. She and I rose earlier than most in the hostel, tore through a breakfast of rolls, jam, butter, assorted fruits, coffee, and eggs, and waited anxiously at the hostel entrance to be picked up by the “adventure tour” agency. There were two other girls already waiting to be picked up, and upon exchanging hellos, we learned that they had come from Glasgow, Scotland.

The four of us piled into a van and drove through the crowded, misty streets, lined with vendors and cafes with colorful awnings. I made small talk with the taxi driver, who told me about all the rain the area had received overnight (and was still receiving at the time). I didn’t let this deter my excitement for the expedition to come. We would be wearing wetsuits anyway, so what was the harm?

It wasn’t until I entered the tour agency office that one of the guides explained the severity of the situation. Because it had rained all night, the waterfalls were too strong to safely maneuver—no canyoning today. As I listened, I was slightly dismayed, but the guide kindly offered to take us on the rafting tour instead. “¿Está bien?” he asked me. I glanced quickly at Katey, who waited expectantly for the English translation. We had to make an instant decision, and we didn’t have any competing alternatives, so rafting it was!

We were fitted for wetsuits, water shoes, and helmets, while introducing ourselves to the cast of characters that made up our rafting group. In addition to the two girls from Scotland, there was a guy from Holland, one from Ireland, and a group of guys from England. The group moved into a van to be taken to the river, and settled down for a scenic, forty-minute ride through the green, fog-covered mountains.

Upon arriving at the launch site, I seriously questioned my decision to raft. I looked at the roaring, wild river in front of me and wondered if I was going to come back to my hostel at all that day. It seemed a definite possibility to be swallowed up by the brown torrent in front of me. I told myself that it was too late to back out, so I tugged on my wetsuit, laced up my gritty, damp shoes, and prepared for the all-important safety briefing.

The new rafters stood around the guides, being pelted in the face by torrential downpour, listening attentively. After an animated, heavily-accented crash course on what to do when things go wrong, my boat of five passengers plus a guide prepared to shove off into the Pastaza River. My excitement and nervousness were hardly containable at this point, but I had far-committed myself to being a team member. I scrambled into the raft with Katey by my side, and before I could totally settle myself, our raft was picked up by the vicious current. Definitely no turning back now!

Our guide yelled instructions to us, assured us that if we followed them, everything would be ok. Forward, forward, full forward! We were flying down the river, paddling like a trained team, when our guide told us to take a break. At that moment, I picked up my head, turned my face to the sky, and took it all in. The forest rose up on either side of the vast river, the sound of the current filled my ears, and my skin was alive with the falling rain. This is amazing. This is absolutely incredible, I thought. My heart raced and the adrenaline drove me to be hyper-alert, ready for whatever the river could throw at us.

The journey included several series of rapids, one of which ejected three out of six raft members into the water, but after a fast-acting rescue effort, all was well. Though the majority of the raft team was comprised of strangers, by the end, we had definitely bonded in some sort of unspoken way. We pulled along to the bank after an especially rough patch of current, with both surprise and relief. Everyone clambered out of the raft with aching arms, racing hearts, and wide smiles of accomplishment. The rafting adventure was exhausting, enthralling, and absolutely unforgettable...a welcome change of plans and an incredible experience in Ecuador!