Project Ecuador — Priceless

Our last clinic day was a day with the locals which brought in many, many school children.  It was a contrast to the aged the previous day. We saw a one-year-old and a two-year-old.  The two-year-old, Juan, needed glasses.  

Many of the children wanted their pictures taken.  It is fun to take their picture then show them the image on the back of the camera - we heard many giggles.  

The teachers of the school children needed to know who we were and present proof the children were at the clinic for the reason they were not in school.  One teacher went so far as to have her picture taken with a couple of us in our TWECS shirts on her camera. 

Lunch today was a cream soup with popcorn.  The entree was beef and beans that reminded me of oysters.  The beans needed to be peeled prior to eating.  This made them much more palatable.  We also had two kinds of potatoes; one very sweet and the other similar to home.  We had only a spoon to eat our meal!

Freddy and Henny, two translators explained that many of the elders in the area

are abandoned by their families.  The families move to the cities and leave the elders to fend for themselves with no income.  The parish supplies one hot meal a day for about 50 elders, otherwise the elders grow and raise their own food.

Our last clinic day was bittersweet.  We did not want to stop what we had started.

We were given gifts of decorated condor ornaments.  I was told that the condor is an important bird to the Quichua people.  We were touched by the thoughtful and generous sentiment.  

After packing up we boarded the bus with the intention of heading to the Equator. As were were heading out of Malchingui, Derrick had Angel pull over to show us a 600- year-old road that was perfect straight line over the Andes.  We had to believe him because none of us knew any better and with overgrown trees we could not confirm nor deny Derrick's story.  

At this particular stop and much to our delight we spied one of our patients, two-year-old Juan.  He had left such an impression, we remembered him. 

Katherine, who dispensed his glasses, recalled his apprehension so she gave him a peach to eat. When it came time to put on the glasses, Katherine gently placed them on his nose.  His jaw fell open and he stopped eating his peach to look around.  

At our roadside stop, we spied him in his mother's (or grandmother's) arms wearing his glasses.  We were ecstatic.  We rushed off the bus to say hello and take photographs.  It made our day; it made our trip to Ecuador.  There was no finer way to end Project Ecuador than to feel so fulfilled by giving what seemed so little to us, yet so much to Juan.

With our hearts filled with joy we made our way to the Equator. It was an amazing feeling being able to straddle the line that separates north from south.  We had fun and listened to an informative talk about the ancients, the sun, and the equinox.  

The next day we travelled to Otavalo to experience the world-famous market where you find indigenous people in traditional dress and stalls set up to tantalize the senses. The most fun begins when your set your sights on an item and the negotiations begin.

After the market we headed back to Quito for a taste of the Old Town and a quick tour.  At 7:00 PM we met and dined together for the last time.  Some volunteers were heading home the next day, some the day after.  A few of us travelled to the Galapagos for a once-in-a-lifetime visit the the unique archipelago.