G.O. Ecuador Travel Diary Day 1 - Amanda Burks

Amanda Burks (far right) straddling the equator with other G.O. members. 

 

 

Day One - Monday March 10, 2014

            Today we were given a tour of the center. Everyone at the center was very friendly, not only the people who work there, but the people who attend the center as well. Every time you walk past someone you are greeted with “hola Buenos dias” which is very different from America because strangers don’t even look at each other and here they are happy to see you. It is amazing what the center does for families. Even at the elevator in the mall when strangers got in they greeted us while, in America we try not to make eye contact in the elevator.The children are 14 and 15 and are already learning trade schools, preparing themselves to become a professional. In America children that age are doing regular school work and are just entering high school. The center really does change people’s lives. The center is the perfect example of “give a man a fish and he will eat for a day, teach a man how to fish and he will eat for a lifetime.”

            We also went to visit some of the houses today of the people who attend the center. They are very humble people. All the houses we visited today had six or more people living in them. The houses consisted of one or two rooms and most of them did not have bathrooms. The houses were very small and had the bare minimal. People in America complain about not getting new uggs or new sneakers, while the people we met barely have roofs. The families could barely feed their children, but did not complain. The families were very humble and looked at the bright side of things. The one man told us that one day he wants to open his own bakery with his wife and rebuild his house with proper installation in addition to making it bigger. He did not complain about how hard his life is he looked into the future and told us his dream and how he wants to make his life better. The experience today touched my heart and was eye opening, it made me want to reevaluate my life. We take everything for granted when others have it way worse than we do.