Clare talks about her volunteering experience with Mashi.

At the end of May I set off to Ecuador to teach English to the children at the school which is supported by the Mashi Foundation,  in Loma Grande.  I was nervous in the few weeks up to the trip, but also excited about what lay ahead.  I had never taught English to children before and I could only speak a few words of Spanish so I knew it might be a bit of a challenge.    
As soon as I arrived at the school I got such a warm welcome.  Everyone was waving and saying hello.   The children were excited and couldn’t wait to get started with their English lessons.  I was so pleased at the childrens enthusiasm and how sweet they were that my nerves started to fade.  The first class went really well, the children picked everything up so quickly.  Jorge is one of the trustees for the foundation who coordinates the work in Loma Grande and Patate.  His daughter,  Myriam,  came along to translate for part of the lesson which really helped.  They all loved learning the new words and also enjoyed receiving stickers as a reward for their good work.  They equally enjoyed “Simon says”, which got quite competitive and they wanted to play it over and over again!  I had so much fun teaching them that it didn’t feel like work at all.  I just hope that they will get more opportunities to learn English as it will be really beneficial for them in the future.
I also taught English to the firemen which was also good fun, although my Spanish was limited and they had a basic level of English we managed to communicate.  Although not fluent, they now know a few more key phrases!
My trip was one that will stay with me forever.  I would like to thank Jorge and his family who were so welcoming and couldn’t do enough for me.  They treated me like a member of their family.  The firemen and Liz also went out of their way to help to make my stay an enjoyable one.  I already miss Ecuador and the people that I met; it was definitely a life changing experience.