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ECUADOR|
Community Internships in Latin America
1
of 6 reflections
A
huge and extremely inspiring part of the
CILA program was the internship. Many
of my moments of growth happened in the
organization with which I worked, the
Centro Para la Nina Trabajodora (Center
for the Child Worker or CENIT). As an
intern, I worked mostly to bring education
to the locations where the children worked,
such as markets or trolley stations.
As time passed, I developed relationships
with the kids and their families, which
led me to take on another project that
involved talking t families and telling
them about CENIT. Timid and lacking a
great deal of confidence in my Spanish,
I set out to do this project. Some families
were eager and excited to share their
experiences and learn more about CENIT,
while others told me that they didn’t
have time or they had too much work to
do. In the end, a lot of them became my
friends and taught me more than they could
ever imagine.
One
such person is Andrea. She lives in Quito
with her husband and four daughters and
she sells vegetables. Our friendship began
with her asking questions about the United
States and me showing her pictures of
my family and friends. Gradually, Andrea
began to open up about her family and
her life. She told me about her sister
who was abused by her husband, her daughter's
experiences at school, the hardships of
the vegetable business, the difficulties
in making ends meet, her desire to come
to the U.S., and so much more. Mostly
she inspired me everyday. Andrea was always
smiling, especially when talking about
her children. She believes in the power
of family and the love they share to overcome
any obstacle. She opened her arms to me,
welcoming me into her world. After all
is said and done, I come away having gained
so much more than I could have dreamed
of giving her. Now it is my responsibility
to do something with this gift, and maybe
part of that is giving it to you….please
remember Andrea's strength and beauty.
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