It was a sweltering 85 degrees as I ran around the concrete court that served as a soccer field for the neighborhood children. My eyes were suddenly caught by 3-year-old Dana sitting alone in the rocky dirt alongside the court playing with an empty Sprite bottle she found in the garbage. She looked up at me and smiled as I walked toward her, asking in Spanish, “Play with me?”
So went a typical afternoon in Duran, Ecuador, a suburb of Ecuador’s largest city, Guayaquil, and my home for nine days.
This past winter break, I traveled with 10 other Fairfield students and one faculty member on a service immersion trip. The trip occurred in partnership with the organization Rostro de Cristo [RdC], “Face of Christ.”
RdC takes youth from the United States to live in solidarity with the impoverished people of Ecuador, allowing them to “reflect on the face of Christ in their joys and struggles,” according to the organization’s mission statement.
In the months before the trip, my team and our leaders César Maldonado, S.J.; Elyse Raby ’08; and Andy Collins ’08 led fund-raising activities and group meetings. However, little could have prepared me for what I experienced during my stay.
We arrived in Guayaquil around 8 p.m. on Jan. 3 to oppressive humidity – a shock compared to Fairfield’s frigid air – in a city comparable to any in the United States except for the profusion of Spanish.
I woke up the first morning to the joyful shouts of children in the guardería, or day care, within the compound of my new home. It was a retreat house located in the Antonio Jose de Sucre [AJS] cooperative.
For the duration of the trip, my team lived like our neighbors. We conserved water and lived off $1 per day. This included eating popular Ecuadorian foods including bread, rice, beans, fried plantains and assorted fruits.
We spent our days traveling through the communities of Duran, meeting people and assisting at RdC’s three after-school programs.
In AJS, we met Gabriel and Teresa, an elderly leather-worker and his wife, who had great advice for us about cultivating better relationships with our loved ones. We met Marta and Maria, two AJS preteens with infectious giggles and a love for dance. We spent hours playing the Ecuadorian card game “40” with Walter and his son Brian, learning the many ways that people can overcome a language barrier.
In the Arbolito cooperative, we were taken in by Lupe, a wonderful jewelry artisan. We discussed lofty questions like the existence of God, the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle and whether, if given a choice, we would live the poverty-stricken life in Duran to be closer with our family. We spent a wonderful afternoon playing keep-away soccer in the pouring rain.
“I was moved by how generous the Ecuadorians were in welcoming complete strangers into their home to further our understanding of their lives and hardships,” said volunteer Lynne McDonald ’08.
We also traveled to meet the patients of Padre Damien house, a hospital for people with Hansen’s Disease, formerly known as leprosy. The group met Carlos, a middle-aged patient who has lived with Hansen’s since he was seven years old. He spends his days battling deteriorated nerves while crafting wooden crosses. As a group, we sang “Build Me Up Buttercup” and “Amazing Grace” to Pedro, a bedridden man who has been a resident at Padre Damien for over 60 years.
Jess Brown ’08 said she was particularly moved after visiting the hospital.
“I think the best part was being able to give a little bit of love to those who are cast out by their family and society,” said Brown.
Returning to Fairfield was difficult for my entire team, after having witnessed such warmth from the people. But many of the group members said they hope to collaborate on various fundraisers and awareness programs to bring the spirit of Duran back home.
“An urban immersion trip is definitely a life-changing experience and definitely has a positive impact,” said Meg McAnaney ’10. “I would encourage everyone to consider applying to one of these trips.”
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