Reports from Ecuador

Since my last post, Melody and I have been able to give three more charlitas at daycares in surrounding areas.  I’m happy to report that we seem to be getting better at, and more comfortable with, giving them.  We’ve been getting more participation in the activities, and slowed down the pace of what we were teaching to allow for a lot of repetition.  Probably the most popular change is our new activity to practice throwing away trash.  We give the kids a small snack, which is something they really enjoy and grabs their attention, and then they have a wrapper to throw away into the trashcan!

Despite our progress working with kids, I keep thinking of more ways to improve upon our work (sometimes I think I’ll never be fully satisfied – there’s always more to do!).  Now that we’ve gotten the kids engaged while we’re there, I’ve started thinking about what we can do to make sure the message sticks with them.  We work with each guardaría for maybe a half an hour, tops, but what happens after we leave?  How long do the kids remember when to wash their hands, and how?

This idea is still in the preliminary brainstorming period, but I’d like to create something that will stay with the communities and continue to spread the lessons we’re teaching, after we aren’t physically there anymore.  I’m still trying to figure out exactly what that would be: a poster? coloring pages? some daily song or game they can play?  I’ll have to keep thinking about it, as well as talk to the clinic staff about what is really feasible and sustainable.