20 Centro Educativo La Minga -- Schools in Malinguapamba

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Quick blog to share photos of school life in Malinguapamba. School was grim before the wonderful enhancements by Centro Educativo La Minga (CELM) under guidance of Pamelita Gilbert, now Malinguapamba is a vibrant, kid-rich place on school days with classes, sports, and cafeteria for 80 kids each week.

One of my goals was to teach watershed science along with technical/vocational training on field survey techniques (see Blog 11). After sitting in on some teacher meetings and attending some classes, it became clear the teachers are already covering "Medio Ambiental" + climate + geography well, so i focused my efforts on the younger kids and our project to develop a watershed coloring book based upon an existing book by Porvenir. Our aim would be to develop more Ecuador-specific detail with the younger age groups so they can get into more depth as they enter Colegio (High School).

The coloring book pages were a big hit -- after discussion of several topics including water cycle, hydrology, hygiene, and growing plants, the kids devoured the coloring pages.

Also included are some photos of the folks that feed the 80 kids 5 times a week (i had the opportunity to tag along on some of the shopping), and some sports including some footbags/hackysacks supplied by Rotary.

I salute teachers everywhere for their important work, i am always humbled when i step into a classroom and realize how difficult it is to keep things focused and effective. Congratulations Pamelita on your successful efforts in Malinguapamba; clearly education is the foundation for all the great work on water/hygiene and erosion control!

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