Update on 2008 Year Out Volunteers

Written by Lucy Watson - Year Out Program Manager

Ecuador
All the students have arrived safely and are enjoying their first week in Quito. They have been to an orientation with the in-country agent, who kindly gave them a present of a warm jacket for the cold Quito nights! They visited the academy where they will spend the next week learning Spanish. They have also been to a local soccer match to get into Quito city life.

Click on Read More to see updates on Year Out volunteers in Ghana, Peru, India and Tanzania.

Ghana
The students were taken to meet their families on Saturday, an exciting and nervous day for them all. Our in-country agent, Tina, tells me they all looked relaxed and happy to finally be with their families. She and Seth went to visit them on Sunday and they were settling in well. It was Melanie’s birthday and her family had a small Ghanaian celebration – minerals (fizzy drinks) and rice! Some of the other students came to help celebrate as well as Tina and Seth.

On Monday they all start work at the orphanage. They visited the orphanage on Saturday to get a feel for it. The group enjoyed playing games and hanging out with the kids. Today they start work at the orphanage. The group will split into 2 with some of them painting a newly built house and the others spending time with the kids, teaching and organising games. They will change over so they all get a turn doing both painting and playing with the kids. It’s Hannah and Ashley (Whittaker’s) birthday today so they will leave the orphanage a little early so they can come home and celebrate with their families.

Peru
The Peru group have all finished their orientation and have now gone to the Sacred Valley to meet their families. Their new Peruvian parents love meeting the students and wait in the main plaza for the bus to arrive and then take them home. Guille will visit each family to ensure they are all settling in well and they have everything they need. It is a good chance for the students to start practicing the Spanish they learnt last week!

The Spanish lessons last week went very well although some found sitting in a lesson tough after having finished school last year! However these lessons will really help them with their families. They can continue to do the lessons at their own cost if they wish.

The group enjoyed their Peruvian meals in Cuzco and also loved the city tour, the walking tour to Sacsayhuaman archaeological ruins and the treasure hunt through Cuzco. It gave them a chance to walk around and explore and also try their Spanish by talking with locals to find clues. The winning group will be given a one-day whitewater rafting trip from Ultimate Tours so there was lots of competition! Sunday has been spent with their families. Guille will be meeting the group on Monday morning at the plaza to take them to the Ccotohuincho School. We have secretly organised a welcoming with the kids so they should enjoy this. They will then talk together about their timetable and the construction project and get started on Tuesday.

Guille will be having a weekly meeting with the students every Monday afternoon to get updates from them, work out any problems with the houses, timetable, sickness etc. We will be asking them to do a written report of the week – a chance for them to reflect on how it’s all going.

India
News from our in-country agent in India has been very positive with him reporting... It’s been an amazing week with such energy and enthusiasm from the students. In past weeks they have done very good job in terms of teaching and maintaining good relationship with students. All the four volunteers are really enjoying their classes and their work. Also they are enjoying there weekend excursions. Last week they did a weekend excursion and today they have gone to Jaipur for two days. They also have enjoyed Indian wedding last week. They got chance to attend my friends marriage, where they dressed up in sari. This week they enjoyed yoga workshop.

Tanzania
For a life in Tanzania update from Grace, one of the students, look at the Camps International Blog.