Sidewalk Chalk and Hospitals

Due to the Holiday, Carnival, school and many of the shops in Quito were closed both Monday and today, Tuesday. Tom, Nicole and I decided to head up to the school and orphanage to play with the kids and help where needed. In the morning, the weather couldn´t have been better. The sun was shining and was definitely hitting the Quito high of 65 degrees if not more. I have learned to wear sunscreen every day and every where as the sun is incredibly intense being so close to the equator! I have also been told Ecuador rests underneath one of the thinnest parts of the ozone layer. The thick black smoke each bus emits, most certainly, is not helping this matter.

There were so many new faces due to the school next to the orphange being closed. It was great - time to bring out some of the bigger kid toys! We started with the sidewalk chalk. The kids were so confused at first. They couldn´t quite grasp that it was ok to write all over the ground and cement walls. We showed them, with a bucket of water, the chalk would wash off. After that, it was on! They went crazy and tore through over half the bucket of chalk.


Carmen was more interested in drawing inside the box than on the cement. Not quite sure who gave her the warrior paint on her cheeks, but I thought it was a good call. This little one knows exactly what´s going on and is too smart for her own good.


We also had a lot of fun with the double dutch jump ropes. The hardest part was trying to find two people who could turn the ropes without chopping your head and/or ankles off. Case and point, the little girl turning the rope in the picture of me below would wait until I was just inside and then would would start whipping the jump rope as fast as she could. Remind me to give her extra candy next time to butter her up.

Meet Tom, another volunteer from Mount Vernon, WA of all places. Small world!

I call him the Candy Man because you will most often see him digging in his back pack for tootsie rolls and jolly ranchers, a beehive of little kids swarming around him. They love him! Tom is traveling indefinitely and is even thinking of buying some property in SA, opening a bar or restaurant and making a life down here.

Carnival in SA permits people to throw water balloons, spray you with hoses and foam stuff (which is similar to silly string) if you enter the street on any one of the days between Friday and Tuesday. After a water fight broke out around the school yard, Nicole, Tom and I asked if we could take a small group of the older kids to a park nearby. After a count-off, we had 15 kids in total, all were at least 10 years old, which made things easier. We never made it to the park, they were much more interested in splashing around in a water fountain/pond. Sanitary? I believe it to be anything but! Regardless, they had a blast, trying to get each of the Tias and Tios into the water.


We made it about 30 minutes before the accident. Daniella, a young girl at the orphange, sat for about 3 minutes just holding her knee on the ledge. We couldn´t quite figure out what was wrong. She didnt cry or say anything. We got her to release her hand and oh boy, I have never seen a cut this deep before in my life. Tom scooped her up and he and Nicole went to the Hospital. I yelled Vamos (let´s go) at various octave levels trying to signal I meant business. I counted 18 kids. Wait, didn´t we only have 15? Ah, who cares, we were all going back.

When Tom, Nicole and Daniella arrived a couple hours later. The hospital, which Tom described as ¨absolutely horrible¨, stitched Daniella up, but would not provide any of the medication or administer the tetanus shot she needed to prevent infection. We talked to a woman at the orphanage who, more or less, said that unless we wanted to take her and pay for it, they would not be getting the medicine for the little girl. Horrified at the thought, we all jumped into a cab to another clinic.

Daniella did not say one word. She didn´t cry or complain at all. Even at the age of 29, I wouldn´t have been as good of a sport as Daniella. I couldn´t help but think it was because these kids probably aren´t used to anyone taking care of them. They are, most likely, left to fend for themselves. I reached into my bag and pulled out some trail mix. She must have been starving. Three stops later, we walked into another hospital of sorts. She was given a tetanus shot and drugs to prevent infection and for the pain.

One ice cream bar and 2 hours later, we were back at the orphanage. In total, between the taxis, tetanus shot and perscriptions, it cost us $20. That is nothing to us back at home, but here in Ecuador and especially to the people at the orphanage, that is a lot of money. Again, experiences like these make me so thankful for what I have - not only the financial stability but also the care of my family and friends.


Not the best looking stitches in the world, but we checked them again today and she seems to be doing ok.

I had a great time with Nicole, Tom and the kids over past two days. Here are a couple more of my favorite pictures. These kids provide so much material for photo opportunities.

Playing in the kiddie pool, freezing, the boys stand for a photo.

How do I even comment on this picture? Crocks on the wrong feet, a onsie with the feet cut off of the bottom, chalk all over his face. Priceless.

This contraption spins round and round while the kids hang on for dear life. The dog is pulling the kids in this picture!

If there was ever a chance I may come home with one of these cuties, it would be this one. Meet Rosita. She spends most of her day wanting to be picked up, her hands never without a fist full of bread.