Site Day!

Today I found out that my permanent site will be in Guayaquil, the largest city in Ecuador. If you have no idea where that is, check it out here! Guayaquil is Ecuador's chief port and the main commerical  and manufacturing center for the country. It has a population of about 3.75 million people... Quite a change from Old Saybrook, CT! While Guayaquil wasn't my first choice geographically (can I take the mountains with me?), it isn't hard to find things to be excited about: the ceviche and other delicious seafood, scoring tickets to some major fútbol games, the beaches(!), and learning to love my hair in 100% humidity (Liz Herrle, can you feel this pain with me?).

Ready for the exciting part? I'm going to be working with the organization JUCONI, Fundación Junto con los Niños. While I still have so much to learn about what JUCONI does and how it operates, its main objectives are to work toward the eradication of child labor and to disrupt the patterns of inter-generational violence and neglect affecting families in Guayaquil.

Today I received a proposal of what JUCONI hopes I will accomplish while working with the organization.

• Volunteer will support in areas related to emotional, physical, and cognitive aspects and themes with workshops focusing on life skills, financial literacy and entrepreneurship, prevention and development.
• Volunteer will work together with JUCONI's technical team that conducts home visits to the families of the children and youth that are beneficiaries of the programs.
• In conjunction with the team that works with the street working children, volunteer will design, plan, and implement individual and group projects with them.
• Volunteer will conduct workshops focusing on domestic violence prevention.
• Volunteer will conduct and develop a community assessment on community needs and priorities.
• Volunteer will collaborate in community service work, workshops and different activities that are complementary to the programs offered by JUCONI to children, adolescents and parents.
• Volunteer will support on after-school tutoring programs. 

I honestly couldn't be more excited by this proposal. It seems like I'll be able to have my hand in a few different areas, and that I'll be able to work directly with youth while also being able to work more systemically with the families and larger communities. Also, it seems like I've scored one of the more structured work environments, and I couldn't be more thankful for that. 

Next week, on Tech trip, a few other volunteers and I will actually be traveling to Guayaquil and visiting the current PCV who works with JUCONI. I'm really looking forward to meeting the place that will be my home for the next two years. 

I'm sure I'm forgetting so much that I should be sharing. As I obsess over websites and paperwork over the upcoming weeks I'll make sure to update you all on whatever I learn. Thanks for being excited with me!