Click here to see pictures of today’s adventures!

As the bus backed down the hill towards the school, faces began to pop up over the metal gates. At that moment nobody knew the impact this place would have on us.

After waking up and going to breakfast we headed up the steep hills of Guaranda to Unida Educativa FAE, the school where we will being implementing our Community Action Plan (CAP). While we were there we visited classrooms, sang some of our favorite childhood songs, and got to know the kids more by talking and playing games with them. After getting a sense of how the school operated, we interviewed teachers and administration to get some ideas for how to best aid the school and its students. We thanked the staff and students for hosting us and headed to lunch.

After lunch and our break we had our english tutoring seminar, where we discussed best educational practices and helpful tips for classroom preparation and management. We then reviewed standard lesson plans and broke off into our groups to create plans of our own. Before we went to dinner we bonded over some interactive games. After dinner we surprised Miles (one of the Glimpsers) with balloons, cake, and confetti! Lastly, we held our nightly meeting where we had some deep and meaningful conversations about our experiences today.

After visiting the school today, the way I see things in life have definitely changed. As we pulled up to the school today every single kid was smiling and was beyond happy to have us. We had about thirty minutes to interact with the kids and have fun. During that time I talked with about ten girls along with our GGL Jean Claud. The more I talked to them the more I was able to find out more about their lives and education. At first it just started off with asking how old they were but eventually we started singing together and became more comfortable with each other. One of the things that immediately stood out to me what that these kids love coming to school. This is almost like a second home to them, and they don’t take it for granted. At times I comment to people about how school can be so boring and I don’t like reading, but after being at FAE I realized that I take school and the mere ability to read for granted. A lot of kids in this area struggle to get a basic education. These kids love every bit of it and this is something I will now always do and think about when it comes to the things I have or receive in life.

It’s crazy to think how much a couple of 12 year olds can teach you in thirty minutes.

Gabby Katz
Northampton High School