JANUARY 2008 UPDATE

How fast a year can disappear is pretty standard conversational fare around the holidays. Where did the time go? Did we spend this year really investing in the people we care about? Did we accomplish all we could have?

Never have I felt that as strongly as this year. I have spent five months - five months! – in South America working, learning, planning, meeting, talking, listening, living. Yet the feeling of having only scratched the surface both of Ecuador and of the community of San Francisco persists, at once humbling me and reminding me that community development is a lengthy, rather than quick, process. “If you want to go fast,” says one African proverb, “walk alone. If you want to go far, walk together.”

Our parents’ meeting, just before we left Ecuador to wander South America for the holidays, capped five months of work in Ecuador and three (for me) in San Francisco. We thanked our parents again for trusting us with their children and described the potential changes in our programming. We then split the parents into small groups to hear their thoughts on our current work and their ideas for how to use our time and energy in the future.

As in our first two meetings, the parents responded positively and honestly: Our students’ grades are up across the board, but we will have to learn how to teach Ecuadorian, rather than American, math. The young adult English classes are good and needed, but we ought to offer them on the weekends instead. Rewarding regular attendance with field trips to universities and museums would be great – and the parents want to come, too.

In addition to discussing the after-school help and English programs, we batted around ideas for potential sports programs, outdoors clubs, women’s exercise classes, computer training, and more. In addition, we have begun to map out a strategy for raising the level of preventive health care in the neighborhood along with a nearby clinic. We have spoken with both private organizations and government ministries about bringing in developed microfinance programs. And we are furiously preparing for the arrival of spring break groups and summer volunteers, in addition to recruiting yearlong volunteers for 2008-2009.

2008 holds bright prospects for MPI Ecuador, as we hope it does for you. We thank you for walking together with us this far!

Feliz Año Nuevo,

Mark Clayton Hand



The MPI group with some of the parents and kids from our program.


Parents and kids meeting to discuss MPI programs.