By Ellie Shalvarjian
Staff Writer
A group of Mira Costa sophomores, juniors, and seniors took their passion for travel and community service all the way to Ecuador to assist in replacing old water pipes, farming potatoes, and transporting lumber in the highlands of Ecuador.
The trip was organized by English teacher Cameron Chow and included almost 40 people. The trip mainly focused on community service in the highlands of Ecuador. However, after being involved with Education First Tours which helps with tours and translations, the group visited the Galapagos Islands for a vacation and education on wildlife preservation.
“The trip to Ecuador and the Galápagos was definitely an experience of a lifetime,” sophomore Maci Vosberg said. “From learning about the rich culture, to seeing all the beautiful scenery, I am so lucky to have traveled to such a unique destination.”
The first location that the group volunteered at in Ecuador at was at an old water pipe where they dug a trench around it to prevent it from freezing. When frozen, the pipe limits access to water, making it so local villagers cannot have necessities. Once the group uncovered the pipe, they then replaced it so that the community could have easier access to water.
“The tough manual labor of replacing the pipe wasn’t extremely fascinating,” sophomore Jenny James said. “The feeling of helping them out was very nice since we knew what an impact it would make on them.”
The Costa students then went to visit a women’s group in a rural area where they then split up into two groups and helped them either farm potatoes or carry lumber. In the beginning the women were not able to participate in conversations, but later their husbands gave them permission to tell stories and converse with the students.
“Going the the women’s center was impactful because we got a glimpse of a typical day for an Ecuadorean woman,” Vosberg said. “It was so amazing to help one woman with her chores in harvesting potatoes, because as a group we finished a whole patch in 1 hour which probably would have taken her three days to do by herself, and It just felt great to help her out.”
Along with community service the trip also included activities including going to a breeding location for penguins. While in the Galapagos Islands the students had the chance to see Galapagos penguins, sea lions, flamingos and giant tortoises. While seeing these animals they also learned about wildlife conservation on the island through visiting the penguin breeding center.
“Seeing the animals, especially in the Galápagos Islands, was so special because of their uniqueness,” James said. “My favorite part of this aspect of the trip was being able to swim with penguins and sea lions in the ocean or visiting a penguin breeding center on the island.”
The students learned about the culture of Ecuador and about the indigenous people. The people have a history of being oppressed and being treated unfairly so it was special to hear about them and their native rituals, James said.
“Being able to learn more about the history of Ecuador as well working with native people helped me to develop a greater understanding and appreciation for these kind, hard working people,” James said. “Even though they didn’t have much they were kind and for the most part, happy, this taught me to appreciate my extremely blessed life more and be grateful everyday for what I have been given.”
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