A walk in the clouds.

As part of our orientation, we were invited to see where three of our Center families live. We took a long bus ride up the mountain then walked about a mile up a steep dirt road. The air was thin and the sun felt hot but overall, the weather was nice. Similar to where we live, the majority of the buildings were covered in graffiti and everyone stared as we passed. While I felt safe walking with a large group, I would never venture to this area alone.

We passed many houses that were either abandoned or in ruins and the neighborhood was completely overrun by dogs. Throughout Quito, it's common to see stray dogs roaming the streets but here, there were hundreds. As we walked through the neighborhood the dogs barked and growled, warning us to keep our distance. There were dogs running through the streets, pacing the cement rooftops of abandoned houses, barking behind fences, everywhere. Their fur was mangey and their eyes appeared orange. It was like something out of a movie. We kept our distance and for the most part, so did they.  

When we arrived to the first house, we were greeted by a young family with five small children. The dad was extremely personable and welcomed us with open arms. The walls of the house were made with cement blocks and the floors were mostly dirt. The roof looked like it was made of tin and the windows remained shut. Unfortunately, it's not uncommon for families here to live without electricity or running water and this house was no exception. Often, families will run their own wires so that they can access electricity but every so often, the electric company will come and cut them. Everything this family owned was covered in dirt and appeared to be falling apart. My heart broke thinking about anyone living here, even more so when I thought about the small children. It's hard to write about what I saw because I don't want to sound like I am passing judgement, I'm not. I do however, feel it's important that people know how blessed they are. So often we take our health, family, homes, education, etc. for granted. Despite the dire living conditions, the dad talked at length about how grateful he was to be part of the Center and to have a job. He told us that as long as they have a roof over their head and food to eat, they were happy. 

When it was time to leave the first house, we had to take a detour because there was a pack of wild dogs that had taken over a part of the street. We walked back down the mountain to another house that was even harder to see than the first one. The house had two rooms. The first room had a dirt floor, some miscellaneous items, and a stove. The second room had two beds and a television. The roof didn't fully cover the side of the house and the family told us that when it rained, it rained down the walls and into the house. This family was temporarily living there because they had been displaced by the earthquake. 

The third house we visited had a small puppy named "Oso" meaning "bear". The kids played with Oso while we spoke with the parents. One of the women that had been walking with us all day was carrying a baby in her arms. A few of us took turns holding her so we could give her mom a break. I was tired just from walking up and down the streets, I can't imagine doing it every day with a baby. As we walked, I struck up a conversation with a young girl named Emily. I recognized her because she was wearing the same clothes as the day before. My Spanish is still very basic so we stuck to easy topics like "what is your favorite color" (pink), "what is your favorite food" (pizza), and any other piece of smalltalk I could think of. While I'm starting to understand more Spanish by listening to the locals and the other volunteers, it's still intimidating for me to speak. I love practicing with the kids because they are patient and sweet. By the end of the day, our clothes were covered in dirt and we were all tired. I washed my shoes in the sink and lay down to take a nap.

Even though it was heartbreaking to see people living in these circumstances, it's important that we know where our students are coming from. Can you imagine assigning homework to a student that has to ride the bus for an hour just to get to school and return to a home with no electricity, no running water, and probably no place to even do homework? During orientation, they teach us that poverty here isn't circumstantial. This means that families aren't poor because one parent lost a job and they are just going through hard times. Families here have been poor for generations, it's all they know. The goal of the Center is to give these families the resources they need to help themselves. There are so many incredible programs here and I can't wait to write about all of them but for now, I ask that you take a minute and count your blessings because we are truly....truly blessed.