Saying Goodbye

Out in the beautiful Galapagos Islands

The past four months have flown by and all of the sudden I am in the last week of my internship in Ecuador. Even though I am excited to return home to spend the holidays with my family, and the fact that I am living 25 miles away from an erupting volcano can be a little unsettling, it will be hard to say goodbye to Riobamba.

Volcano Tungurahua

A few weeks ago, I was having a conversation with some local friends about what I was going to do when I got home. I started talking about how I needed to look for a job and jokingly mentioned that I might have to go back to my first job of washing dishes in a resaurant. My smile and slight laughter was met by a serious question. When they asked me how much I made at that job, I told them it was six dollars an hour. One friend then responded that she made two dollars and fifty cents an hour. This was just another reminder of how fortunate and lucky I really am. I have had several other reminders over the past four months, whether visiting a family of 8 living in a small adobe house or seeing small children working out in the fields with their parents. I have seen and experienced several things that have had a huge impact on my life and I hope will continue to impact my life in the future.

Drew getting some soccer time in

In my last interview before starting my internship my boss, Caleb, made sure to tell me of the difficulties of an internship. One thing that stuck with me the most was that I may not see major changes during my internship, but that afterward I would be able to look back to see all of the things I had accomplished, and that I would also be able to look in the future and see what will be accomplished through my work. Now as I am at the end of my internship I can look and be proud of what I accomplished. I can think back on the 10k race I helped organize, the sponsors I talked to, the people I signed up, and all the work the staff put in with no prior knowledge of how to organize a race. I can also look back at the mini expedition with Kyäni, which will lead to a school being built in one of the poorest places I have ever seen. However, when I look back I will mostly think of the simple day-to-day work I did such as: the simple health and nutrition classes, the rocks I moved while kids laughed at me; and the overall warmth of the people with whom I worked.

An Ecuadorian Thanksgiving

Ever since I first went to Latin America in 2005, I have had the desire to help out in anyway that I can. A big reason why I decided to do an internship with Ascend was to get more experience in that field. This internship has not only meant the opportunity to help people who truly need it, but also the chance to continue a career in an area that I am passionate about. As I return home I have hopefully gained the experience necessary to find a job where I can continue to make a difference for those in need.

With kids outside a school

Four months is a pretty short time, and it sure went by fast. But as I return home, I will do so knowing how much I gained from this experience. I am grateful for all the different areas I gained experiences in; things I never would have thought I could do. I want to thanks all the members of the Ascend staff in Ecuador and in Salt Lake City for all always offering their support and help when I needed it, especially to my fellow intern Drew, for all that he taught me. I want to thank my family and friends for all their support during this experience. Most importantly I want to thank the people of the communities where I have worked for the past four months.

McLean Smithson

Intern with Ascend Alliance

The Journey

Here is a quick look at our two hour commute to the communities where we work. There are some quick looks at the towns we pass, the roads we drive on, the communities when we arrive, and a few other things we see along the way.

Hope you enjoy,

McLean Smithson and Andrew Reeve

Ascend Alliance Interns

Riobamba, Ecuador

http://www.ascendalliance.org

Ascend Ecuador - October 2010

Adjusting to a New Reality

My first day visiting the communities

As the calendar creeps closer and closer to October, I am amazed at how fast time has gone by. It seems like just yesterday I was arriving in Riobamba at 3:00 AM after an eternity of traveling, ready to start my internship. When I first arrived, I was not sure what to expect. I just hoped for the chance to make a difference in peoples' lives. Over the past few weeks I have been given several chances to help the people we work with ascend out of poverty and improve their lives. This can be a very tedious and slow process, but I am grateful for the chance to make even a small difference, and I am very excited for opportunities that will arrive in the future.

Drew scoping out the location of our 10K

Here at Ascend, there is never a shortage of work to be done. We are in the midst of preparing a 10K run which will take place on October 24th. This has proven to be a very challenging task due to our small staff. We have to design all the advertisements, posters, t-shirts, product bags, prizes, and other logistics for the run. We also are very busy talking with potential sponsors. In addition to organizing the run, we are also preparing to receive representatives from Kyani, a company based out of Utah that wants to help Ascend build a school for those in need. The village that has been chosen for Kyani to visit is called Galte Pakcha. Ascend has worked with several villages in the Andes and completed many projects to help those in poverty. However, this will be the first time Ascend has worked in Galte Pakcha. This will prove to be a challenging task, because we do not have many contacts to help us work with the people.

Children in the current school in Galte Pakcha

Initially we arrived in Galte Pakcha hoping to begin making contacts with the people and to gain their trust. In addition, we also wanted to begin collecting information about the community to send back to Ascend Headquarters in Salt Lake City. I was not sure what kind of reception we would get from the people. After all, it’s not common for two Americans to show up unannounced willing to help. But the people were great from the moment we pulled up in our truck. Several were there to greet us and welcome us to their home. They also prepared a big meal for us with lots of potatoes and Cuy (Guinea Pig), which actually tastes pretty good once you can get over the fact that you are eating a cute little animal. The people have been very easy to work with and have made our job a lot easier.

Coming face to face with Cuy

An obstacle we face while working in Galte Pakcha is the language barrier. The native language is Quechua, so the people speak Spanish as their second language. Most of the time we can communicate very well, but there are other times when a translator (Quechua to Spanish) is needed in order for us to communicate. In spite of this, we have received plenty of help from the villagers, who help us overcome any difficulties we face. They even have the patience to help us try to learn a few words in Quechua.

Collecting information in Galte Paccha

I feel very fortunate to be a part of this wonderful organization, and for th chance to help those in rural Ecuador. I also feel privileged to work with people who live in such poverty yet constantly have smiles on their faces. I know a problem such as poverty cannot be solved overnight, or even during the four months I will spend down here, but I also know that I can be a part of a special process that helps those in need ascend out of serious poverty.

McLean Smithson

Intern, Ascend Ecuador

www.ascendalliance.org

A Different Perspective

My backyard, Mt. Chimborazo

I´ve never suggested living far from where you work, I have always advocated against it. But my job, is different, I´m thousands of miles away from my home, thousands of miles away from my safety zone. I travel at least a few hours a day in our truck to our place of work, but I enjoy it. You see, we work far up in the mountains, away from modern civilization, away from it all. Up here, we are different, we are people of the world, all trying the help each other in the best way we can.

Our first meeting.

Ascend is more than an organization to me, more than some average NGO or humanitarian organization. Ascend is what I eat, sleep, and dream about. It´s what I do, it is my life right now, and honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way. We are doing many things through out the world to help those in need, but here in Ecuador we have several projects that are under way that are helping empower those in need so they can Ascend out of poverty. The first, and the most material, is that we are remolding a bathroom at the school for the children, you should have seen the condition it was it when we first started.

The before picture, can you imagine if the bathroom at your child's school looked like this?

The second is that I have begun my English lessons to those teenagers and adults that have the desire to learn. I can attest, these individuals have more passion than I´ve ever seen to learn something that they don´t call their own. Education, as we all know, is the most important thing in life, especially if you want to go some where higher than where you are now. As the days pass English becomes more and more important for these individuals, because they know, with only
another language, they can empower themselves.

The mid-way picture, we´re almost there, looking better!

My perspective here is different, it is a bit of what I expected, but a bit more rough than I had originally thought. We work hard day in and day out and we know that the work we are doing is helping these individuals better their lives. Some may disagree with what I´m doing, but I do not. I see this as a life changing experience, and I know I will grow up here, if at least on a little.

The Ecuador Crew.

As for now, I leave with you what I have seen and the experiences I´ve had. I know that if you´re reading this you have at least a little bit of passion towards the work we are doing, and trust me, I can show you how amazing my help and yours is here. There are more experiences to be had and more people to help, so for now, I leave you with this. Thank you.

Sincerely,
Andrew Reeve
www.ascendalliance.org

How to teach a child how to fly

Well, I’ve had my first week here in Ecuador and I’ve seen some crazy things. I´ve been inspired with hope and reason. I´m not sure if I can change the world, but I can at least try. Today was a special day. While we were in the community helping the poor I found myself surrounded by children. I had a reason, a way, and I was bound to teach them something, and I did. Being the crazy person I am, I decided to tell them that I could fly, and with an example, they soon also wanted to fly, so I taught them. As we jumped off of our dirt mound time and time again we shared laughs, and I thought, is this how I ascend? Is this how we ascend? I hope so. .

Flying, in this sense, is a metaphor. Realistically, my goal here is to empower those in need to save their children and ascend out of poverty (empoderar a los mas necesitados salvar a sus niños y salir de la pobreza).

Its not really about me, its more about Ascend. More so about the work we are doing. For example we are almost finished with a remodeling project of a bathroom for the kids at the school. There's a lot more we can do, but for now, we're doing the best we can. I hope that with time we can make a change in these peoples lives. I know we probably have, but there is always more help that is needed.

Anyways, Ill keep it brief, I have work to do, people to help, a world to change.

Goodbye for now, here´s hoping we can meet again.

With Love,

Drew

www.ascendalliance.org