Cotinga Foundation Trip 2022
As the pandemic eased and restrictions were lifted, we realized that we would be able to make the 6th Cotinga Trip to Ecuador a reality. A team of 11 teachers met throughout this past winter and spring to create seminars and curriculum to help the teachers in Cayambe, Ecuador.
Their students were out of school for exactly two years. This created different challenges. We presented seminars on trauma, implementing rules and procedures, regression in academics and behavior.
This year was very different from previous trips. The indigenous people in Ecuador started a protest on our first day at the school. Only ⅓ of the students attended that day and none came the rest of the week. We couldn’t model lessons for the teachers while interacting with the students. Instead, we were able to provide much needed in depth time with the teachers in every one of the 18 classrooms. This time in the mornings became very personally focused.
The seminar for the 100 Preschool supervisors had to be canceled. As the week progressed, there were roadblocks in and out of the city so that traveling became impossible. The teachers from Giovanni Calles continued to walk to school each day to meet with us.
I was able to hold the seminar for the 8 Inclusion Supervisors, however. The ideas and materials were very well received. They asked a lot of questions and brainstormed various ideas with each other. It was an exciting day.
We were able to provide the teachers and supervisors with lots of supplies: pencils, dry-erase markers, colored markers, colored pencils, index cards, reading strips, velcro, post-its, and a variety of fun learning materials that the students will enjoy. We gave them a lot of ideas of items that they can make. We left about 100 picture books of varying levels to be distributed throughout the classrooms when the students returned. The school now has 600 books, when it previously had 0.
The trip overall was very productive, in spite of the ending. Due to the protest of the indigenous people and strike of the transportation workers, we were not going to be able to get to the airport at the end of the weekend to fly home. After a long series of events, we had to hire a security team that safely got us through the blockades, police lines, army lines and to the airport in the middle of the night. We are grateful for their protection.
The ending of the trip actually compounded our sense of accomplishment. The teachers of Giovanni Calles proved that under any circumstances, they want to learn. They want to teach more effectively and Cotinga Foundation is there to help them.
We are hoping in the future to be able to go to additional Spanish-speaking countries. We would like to share our knowledge and work with other needy areas.