MARCH 2008 UPDATE

Manna Project’s own version of March Madness has officially begun- except it has nothing to do with basketball (well, except for the basketball court our volunteers are painting). Our March Madness refers to the flurry of activity during Manna Project spring break, where in the course of one month, 47 volunteers from four Universities will spend their spring breaks implementing several service projects in San Francisco, the community where MPI focuses.

Medical students from Iowa taught a dental hygiene class to our students, brought down several suitcases full of donated medical supplies for the MPI Health Program and shadowed physicians in various public hospitals around Quito. Vanderbilt’s spring break team is restoring San Francisco’s playground and basketball court. A group from UNC will be performing Assets Based Research in order to identify and eventually connect the services that already exist in both individuals and institutions in the community. University students from Duke and a second group of medical students from the University of Iowa will be focusing on health education for our students, teaching nutrition classes. In addition, the spring break volunteers all have the opportunity to visit our programs, meet our students and learn about what MPI does in Ecuador. March is the culmination of hundreds of hours planning, fundraising and preparing for the spring break service trips. It’s an exciting and eventful time of year for both MPI and the communities where we serve.

In the midst of the spring break rush, our programs continue to thrive. Last Friday Zak and I took a group of 11 students to the Vivarium in Quito (a reptile and amphibian zoo) as a prize for nearly perfect attendance. The students got to see (most for the first time) snakes, frogs and lizards from all over Ecuador. A few lucky ones even got to hold a Boa, including 6-year-old Marjorie who showed absolutely no fear!

I attached a few pictures from spring break and the Zoo but if you’d like to see more (and a few videos), please visit www.mpiecuador.blogspot.com

¡Saludos desde Ecuador!

Abbie



Brave Marjorie with the Boa at the Reptile and Amphibian Zoo.


Nick, Paul and Heather (medical students from Iowa) after watching a surgery at Tierra Nueva Hospital in Quito.


Zak and I at the Reptile and Amphibian Zoo with the kids who won the attendance prize.


Medical students from Iowa during spring break, about to head off to shadow in a hospital.


Spring Break with Iowa Medical College and our neighbors who helped us cook for the group.


Iowa medical students teaching our kids about dental hygiene.


Dental Class!


Shandhini and Daniel, Iowa med students during their spring break, shadowing at Tierra Nueva Hospital.


Mark and Emilio during programs.