#86- Read Slaughterhouse Five

FINISHED IT YESTERDAY MORNING! I'm reading a disgusting amount on this trip.  It is so so wonderful.  I actually am a huge fan of not really having internet, and thus having to do better things with my time.  I should try it more often.

Anyway, as for the book, it wasn't as amazing as I thought it would be.  That sounds horrible.  I'm sure I could do absolutely no better, but still. So it goes.

Baha.  Get it?!?!



I started home visits on Monday, and they were way more powerful than I ever expected they could be.  No broma.  I visited four houses on Monday.  Every single mother was 23, except for the first, who was 26. I'm 21.  And I'm selfishly traveling around South America.  It doesn't seem right to me..

It might make sense to explain Cristo now.  The foundation accepts about 100 kids each year, and charges the family $10 a month for the children. However, it actually costs the foundation between $70 and $80 a month to care for the kids.  They are sponsored by one church in Ecuador, three churches in the US, and a handful of padrinos, which literally translates to godfathers, who also donate money on a regular basis. 

Clearly the demand far exceeds the number of spaces that are available within the guarderia.  And so they narrow it down, to select new enrollees each September.  This year, they have 46 cupos (spaces), and had over 200 applicants.  After reading the paper applications, which included information like neighborhood, monthly salary, and place of work, it was narrowed down to about 120 to do home visits for.  The home visits are to make sure that nobody is lying on their paper application, and to justify who really needs these spots.

But it's heartbreaking.  Because the pobreza (poverty) is so clearly visible in all of these cases.  But you have to choose the poorest of the poor.  How do you do that? And how do you justify that this person's $240 a month is worth more than this person's?  Gah.

The first family was a mother, her husband, and their two kids, an 11 year old boy and a 3 year old girl named Miley.  Apparently Hannah Montana had reached Ecuador by 2007...
The mother had a steady job, the father was in construction and didn't.  They had a two room "house", with no bathroom or running water, and one light bulb per room.  But it was the nicest house I saw that day...

The second was a 23 year old mother with a 4 year old son.  However, she was quickly cut out of the running because she was giving shady answers to the questions.  First, she said she worked full time.  Then she didn't.  Then she did.  Then it was possible that she would.  And her husband's salary kept fluctuating, as well

Sidenote:  minimum wage in Ecuador is $240 a month.  $2880 a year.  For the child to be accepted at Cristo, all present parents must work full time, and there must be no other alternative for the child during the day.  Cristo only accepts children between 18 months and 5 years; normally, employers are more lenient about letting a woman bring an infant, but once s/he is walking, it's undoubtedly a lot harder.  


So.  Madre numero dos was a no. Nunca nunca.  Oh, and she was ALREADY paying $30 a month for a different guarderia, to boot!


Madre numero tres was the saddest one that we saw that day.  She was 23, with an almost 3 year old and  6 month old.  The husband left her while she was pregnant with the 6 month old, and is now not involved at all with the children.  She lives in a room off of her parent's "house", but has really nothing of her own.  In the other situations, the women at least had their own stoves.  She used theirs, and their fridge.  They shared a bathroom outside.  Again, no running water. 

The abuela of the two kids, who was 42, currently takes the 2 kids to work every day (she works as a maid).  But with a 2 year old, it's just creating a ton more work for her.  This case was determined to be urgent, meaning that this family will most likely get a spot in Cristo. 

The last house was another single mom, with literally the most beautiful daughter I've ever ever ever seen.  I want to steal her (actually, I want to steal the majority of these kiddos...).  She works, as well, but since her daughter only has  one more year before kindergarten, she wants her to be in more of an educational setting.  Currently, the daughter stays with her aunt during the day. 


It also frustrated me that I went to all these one-room houses, and then came home to my  host house with an indoor pool and my own bathroom.

It doesn't seem right.  I'm actually starting to cry (again) in the computer lab (cool).  Not right at all.  And I know as long as there's a world and money, disparities like this will exist.  But that doesn't make me capable of dealing with it any more.....

I have more house visits today.  Should be interesting.  And then I'm in the Amazon this weekend!!  I can't even explain how excited I am for that.


And then I'll go back to working with the poorest of the poor kids in Cumbaya.  Bah.