Hello Everyone,

2009 has already seen a lot of change, I swear that time goes faster on the equator, which is why your time at the project flew by (at least I think it did for most of you). We’ve said goodbye to our coordinator Beth, and wish her all the best in the future. As a result I’ve been back in Ecuador since mid-March and will be here until we have a new project manager. We are changing the set-up so that there is a manager just to deal with the administration side of the project and to always have 2 or 3 assistant coordinators to help with the schools.
In mid-March we started teaching at the Angel Manzano school (Km.22). It highlighted how much more English the children know at Km.35, which is all down to the volunteers and their hardwork. The children and teachers at Km.22 are really enthusiastic and are catching up with Km.35 fast. There are around 25 children at Km.22 with 3 teachers. The classrooms are in a bit better shape too. For those of you who have visited, Paul seems to be a lot cleaner these days, but tries his best to get as filthy as possible before the end of school!
At Km.35 they are building a covered playground in front of the school. They seem to be taking their time with it, but I think it will be ready for the new school term. We’ve had a couple of new recruits this year and are now up to 21 children. There were only 15 when we started just over a year ago. Pablo has got over his cry-baby stage and is now firmly into the “hug-anything-that-moves” stage.
At the beginning of April Erica arrived at the project in the assistant coordinator role, and has completely changed the way we teach in the schools. It is already possible to see the improvements in the children, and we are hoping to see some more improvements in the school and the project before she leaves at the end of May. We now spend 2 days at week at Km.22 and 2 at Km.35 with the evening class on a Wednesday. This means we now have much more free time and are thinking up new and fun ways to fill it.
We had our 1 year anniversary of the project on 31st March, where we had a special cake to mark the occasion. It’s amazing how much the project has changed in a year.
The house has improved too. We have built some cupboards for the rooms and there is a 2nd bathroom, a wall on the back of the house, with a front door coming soon. The garden is also starting to take shape, largely thanks to Glens help.
There is a new website on the way, I’ll let you all know when it is up so we can get some feedback. We’re also on Twitter (amazonteaching) and on Facebook (YouVolunteer and the Arajuno Road Project group) if you are not following us already.
In the UK we have expanded our board of trustees and will be submitting our charity application very soon.