In my last post, I said that I would describe a bit more about FUNHI, which stands for Fundación de Nuestros Hijos. It used to have a lot more participants, but currently there are 4 people who all have Cerebral Palsy and are at the center from 8a-12p on weekdays. During this time, they receive physical therapy and our occupational therapy services, and the rest of the time is spent leisurely. Coming in, I had grand ideas of intervention ideas or potential education resources to provide the center, but I soon learned that none of these are relevant to the clients’ needs. They range in age from 20-40, and their levels of impairment are significantly different. Three are wheelchair bound, three are non-verbal, two have communication devices, and each has varying severity of muscle tone and spasticity. Thinking that I could offer some basic OT principles such as adapted ways of performing self-care activities or learning how to transfer more efficiently rather than just “pick up” the clients, it soon became clear that these things wouldn’t be very beneficial. Culturally, these individuals are cared for by family members and that is the way it has always been. Trying to change something that isn’t a priority for the client or family isn’t going to benefit anyone. That was a tough thing to grasp, but Lisette has showed me more social-based activities and craft focused occupations that they are interested in.
On a separate note, we were invited by the psychology/social work team that shares the building with CRECER to attend an event at St. Francis high school that was providing families, who have children with disabilities, holiday food baskets. We watched the ceremony where the high school kids put on skits and performed dances, while the population with disabilities participated in games such as musical chairs and a version of hot potato. Each person with a disability who so desired was given the microphone to speak on behalf of themselves and peers to shed more awareness of their abilities. Citizens of Ecuador with disabilities were not given constitutional rights until 2008, so having a public presence is something relatively new. Below is a picture of all the high school kids in the background, with families receiving their food baskets in the front row. We had an unexpectedly good time!
Over the weekend, Lisette and I decided to visit Cotopaxi Volcano. It is the second tallest active volcano in the world, and the second highest peak in Ecuador. To get there, we took a $3, 2.5 hour bus from Ibarra to Quito, then we had to take a Trolebús from the north terminal of Quito to the South. Remember how narrow and long I mentioned Quito is? Well it took us 2 hours on the bus, and it was during rush hour- at least it was only 25 cents! We took one leg about 1/5 of the way through the city then transferred to a different line. We were packed like sardines with our large backpacks for an hour and a half- I had my eye on my bag at all times! Luckily, I was next to this woman who chatted with me the whole way to distract me from feeling claustrophobic and once we were off she helped us find the ticket station for our next bus. We then took a $2, 1.5 hour bus ride further south into the city of Latacunga, a gateway city to Cotopaxi as well as the Quilotoa Lake hiking loop. Our transport took us 7 hours total, while in a car it would take 3-3.5 without traffic.
The following morning we took a bus north and asked the driver to drop us off at the entrance to Parque Nacional Cotopaxi. Here, we bargained a guide to take us up for $25 for the day. He was amazingly friendly, and provided us with a great history of the volcano and allowed us to stop at all points along the route towards the summit. Once parked, we began hiking the 2,000 feet to the glacier. The starting altitude was around 14,000 ft, and I was breathing heavily after 10 steps. Unfortunately, the day was very overcast and it was hard to see much of anything, but there was still a unique beauty to the fog. Our guide, Jaime, told us we would take the suave swithback route up, and come down via a gulley. This easy zig zag route took us around an hour and I had to stop numerous times! I never got dizzy, a headache, or nauseous, but just being at that altitude is killer. The path started out with sandy volcanic rock and eventually hardened and became more and more snow covered.
Once this hour was up, we reached the Refuge, which is where anyone who is attempting to summit the volcano stays the night before. It’s a 6 hour nighttime hike that only 1/5 of the people who intend to complete, actually succeed. After this, there was another 40 minute hiking segment to the glacier. This was much steeper, and it is where some people had to turn back. I was as slow as could be, but I’m sure glad I made it to 16,350 ft! This is probably the only time I will see snow (sadly) all season/year. Lisette and I were very happy for the opportunity to get to do this weekend trip, and the clouds even subsided slightly as we were descending the volcano, allowing us to see the immense beauty of the valley below. It used to be a lush green color full with animals, but over the last 30 years or so, the base plateau of the volcano has become a pale yellow color with substantially fewer animals. Many of the images we saw of Cotopaxi from “before” and “now” made the impact of rising temperatures disappointingly visible.
On Tuesday this week, an OT volunteer from Australia, Hannah, and I got the chance to visit a center for older adults in Urcuqui, a town around 45 minutes away by bus.The center is open on weekdays from 8a-2p, and around 60 older adults from the area come for a day filled with activities. They have physical therapy, dance therapy, social groups, mathematics/writing, social work, and most prized- their garden.
Walking into this place, I instantly knew it was somewhere that I wanted to spend much more time at. I am very inclined to work with the adult population, and the director of the program assured me that my capstone project can be implemented here even though I am having serious doubts about cultural relevance even after “accounting” for it prior to arrival in Ecuador. These adults range in age from 65-106 (wow!), and they are all very high functioning-almost independent in their daily lives. In the States, we tend to make everything accessible and easy for older adults, while here, the individuals are used to an active, non-sedentary, labor-oriented lifestyle. Here I am doing dance therapy and sweating, while these older adults are getting their groove on no problem! It’s an interesting comparison to make between cultures, and it’s something to really think about. This population of Ecuadorians have a great quality of life because they continue to work towards achieving functional independence in their lives.
The big event for the week at CRECER was the “Mom’s Christmas Party”. Since the focus at CRECER is always on the kids, this nighttime event was for the the all the moms (we counted around 45) to have some fun and to serve as a break for them- as they more often than not provide around the clock care for their children with disabilities. We had a plethora of games organized prior and spent all week preparing for it on a budget. We had pin the nose on the reindeer, bobbing for ornaments, Christmas Bingo, and our favorite game with saran wrap. First, a large prize is placed at the center and covered with saran wrap. The ball continues to grow as you continue to add more saran wrap and more prizes, but the key is to cut many pieces of saran wrap in different directions to peeling it apart is more difficult. The saran wrap ball is passed like a hot potato around a circle of people, and whoever reaches the center wins the big prize. The moms got so competitive and it was easy to tell how much fun they were having. I’m glad I got to be present for this event, as holidays are beginning and the clinic won’t be open again until January.
Sadly, this week is Lisette’s last week. Her and I spend almost all day together, so I will be sad to see her go. We got to go to lunch at a beautiful bed and breakfast type place in a more rural area of town and eat a nice meal that wouldn’t be considered typically Ecuadorian. I had the best fried plantains of my entire life!! While it’s sad that Lisette will be leaving, I’m looking forward to the next few days because Hannah, Elaine, and I are headed to Colombia. I had the opportunity to visit Bogotá last August, and I fell in love with the people of this country. We plan on taking public buses the ~30 hours north from Ibarra to Bogotá- though stopping along the way to a) enjoy the incredible scenery and b) avoid motion sickness for hours on end. Stay tuned!
