A world-full of choices…

With holidays starting and Christmas in the air, last Wednesday was festive and buzzing, making it yet again quite unusual as well as a bundle of fun…

Contrary to custom, the team arrived a little earlier with this time a larger-than-normal group of kids waiting for us. To be honest with you (and realistic with ourselves!), quite a few of them were there before time to welcome the long-awaited Alfonso, alias Licenciado Vurro (Professor Donkey), who used to be Cuéntamelo Todo’s exclusive story teller over the project’s first few months. Most of our kids have been with us since we started, and many have regularly asked after ”El Vurro”… so today was an important rendezvous for which one had to be geared-up and on time!

Thanks to the help of some 15 little elves, we swiftly set up tent on the Plaza- it appears some of our kids have sussed out faster than some of the team members (;-0!) how to assemble the tent’s pieces... Instantly, books, papers and colour crayons started blooming beneath the tent. For those who were feeling more bouncy, games were initiated led by the cefistas, FyA’s team of student volunteers.

In less than half an hour, over 40 Cuéntamelo Todo’s stickers were handed out and Monica, our social worker, was having a hard time tracking down names and associating faces. This was enhanced by a noisy cluster of requesting mothers gathered around her asking for las navidades, a custom in this country which, in the run-up to Christmas, translates into gift distributions generally by charities and religious institutions. After explaining what Cuéntamelo Todo was all about and how that was not part of what we did, the crowd, which had doubled thanks to curious and inquisitive newcomers, finally dispersed enabling us to launch into the tale of the week.

“La maquina de cuando sea grande” is a really nice story by Mercedes Falconi about a scientist who creates a machine, which enables one to travel into the future as well as back into the past of one’ s life. Over 50 kids snuggled up under the tent, and as they were captivated by ”El Vurro” there was not a sound emanating from them- you could have heard a pin drop! As soon the story ended, many of the kids insisted on sharing with the rest of the crew what they would like to be when they grow up.

As part of recapping the values and rights we look to emphasize with the kids, ”El Vurro” then talked about how things we do today may affect our future, hence the importance of decision-making, and how in that process, there are many possibilities and outcomes. There is the chance, for example, that in your choice-making, you find you “got it wrong“... though as he underlined, “what does getting it wrong actually mean?” Nothing is ever totally wrong or right, there is always something good to get out of a choice you made and learning from that is an important part of that process.

”El Vurro” finished off this session with a series of jokes and riddles for the children to solve. A few of them decided to stand up and address the group with some other, more complicated ones giving way to a few more giggles! It is really great to see how many of our kids, most of whom share the Plaza outside of schooling hours, now have befriended each other thanks to Cuéntamelo Todo, play together during and beyond our sessions... and thus live another one of their key rights, one which we will be covering over the next months, namely the right to play.

To wrap up the session, the cefistas had organized a series of mime games for the smaller kids, including one where professions were to be guessed. The other children stayed in the tent with our guest of the day and split into groups for a little timed competition: make a sentence out of numbered colour letters. As you would expect all the groups made it on time!

As it was the last session before Christmas, we had decided to give our kids a book with a little note from the team, together with some candies the cefistas had brought. Unfortunately, with the higher turnout and the hefty motherly expectations, we decided to postpone it to the New Year, when our regular kids will be back. … The joys of working in the street for you- another work in progress and an entertaining process...

As it is holidays, we will be off this week to return next Wednesday 6 January with the Defensoria del Pueblo who will be looking at 'the right to get it wrong' starting off with a film….so until then, we wish you all a very happy 2010!!

Let´s get connected...

Yesterday we learned a little more about the right to information. Manuel from IRFEYAL, Fe y Alegria´s sister radio organization, was there to introduce to kids what information is, what his job as a journalist actually consists in and how he makes it available to people. IRFEYAL is part of the general international popular education movement and provides all around Latin America distance learning classes to adults via its radio stations.
After an interesting tent set up that lasted little longer than usual…we were finally able to start :-)Today, our team was actually somewhat larger than life; Henri and Santi had brought a few more CEFA girls interested in getting involved in our project. These girls immediately took the kids to some energetic warm up games.

Manuel then invited the kids to take a little virtual tour into the world of communications. He started out by asking them if they knew a story and if they wanted to share it… Swiftly, one of our little talkative ones perched herself on Santi´s arms to tell her own story to the group- her imagination is known to be vivid! After this introduction, and thanks to his calm voice and respectful demeanor, Manuel managed to catch the kids´ attention by asking them simple questions such as where does information come from, how does it actually come to you. ¨Through a very long cable¨ said a kid, ¨ through a person¨, added another one, ¨yes¨ Manuel confirmed, ¨and how do you call that person exactly?¨, ¨a journalist¨ shouted another kid.

Once that was clear, and the kids finally understood what Manuel was up to with his days, off we went back to how we could all listen or view a same information from a box that could be in any house across borders … the kids were captivated by this new world of abstract waves that indeed enables us to watch the ¨Chavo del ocho¨ in Ecuador as in Mexico… Manuel further stressed, ¨can you see those antennas?¨ pointing to the San Francisco rooftops, ¨thanks to these, we can receive an image coming from the other side of the world , like China¨. All the kids nodded reflectively until … some spotted a bride being carried across the Plaza, and dragged one of our team members to pinch our camera and capture the moment! And there goes a potential journalist, we all smiled…The aim of this session was to invite kids to develop inquisitive minds, observe, and ask themselves and others questions- not that we have an issue with that…all the kids are quite able to fend for themselves!

We then followed up thanking Manuel with a little investigative activity to create around the ¨Afiche Cultural CT¨. As we mentioned last week the intention with this was to divvy up the crew in small groups, a dance, music, sports & outdoors and last but not least, an arts group. We had a selection of cuttings of low-cost events taking place in Quito over the coming weeks and the aim was for each group to choose those of interest in order to create a ¨Cuentamelo Todo Calendar¨ of the Month. Next week we will have the selected upcoming events posted, and the idea is for each of our kids to feel free to feed in weekly events/activities (for free or under US$2) that may have caught their attention. To our surprise, the kids were excited to hear about the Nutcracker (and what that actually was) in the Teatro Sucre, the free entry Christmas carols in the local churches, or the free exhibits at the water and science museums…During that time, Manuel, our star of the day, passed around the groups, and carried out a few interviews with the kids…What exactly was exchanged, we are not quite sure, and we will discover shortly as it turns out we were on air today…as we were on the Plaza with our Mobile Library (this is every Thursday) we actually missed it! …As soon as we get hold of the recordings, we´ll post the link…Fingers crossed on the outcome! ;0

To finish off yesterday´s session, some went off with the CEFA crew to play a game of touch volley on the plaza whilst the younger ones stayed under the carpa´s shade to draw microphones, cartoon celebrities and journalists interviewing people!

Next week we´ll be reverting back to story telling, a format we worked with in the initial months of the project, with the much-awaited return of Alfonso, known by the kids as Licenciado Vurro (which stands for Professor Donkey…). We expect he will be returning with an entertaining representation of "La maquina de cuando sea grande" by Mercedes Falconi to illustrate the right to choose...

How to relax…

Yesterday was pretty informal. Maria Gabriela, alias Gaby, from the Defensoria del Pueblo, was with us to help the kids think about how and why it´s important to relax. One needs to understand one´s limits to be efficient and make the most of the choices and opportunities around us. By relaxing, you are making sure you give yourselves all these options.

Waiting for the kids to arrive, the session started out quite laid back (what a surprise!) with Gaby and a few of our early attendants (the same are often there before us tapping foot!) helping her blow the multicoloured balloons she had brought. Gradually, as the sun shone, kids streamed in under the tent and made themselves comfortable to read the book selection we had available. Our CEFA team accompanied them in the browsing. The more active ones went off to play volleyball on the plaza until Henri and Santi called them to do a few ice-breakers. During that time, we strolled around the plaza to invite the passing or sitting children with their parents- the idea is for the parents who could be wandering, spending a relaxing afternoon on the square or even working there with their kids, to know that we are here and that their children are cordially invited. In most cases, the kids happily joined us and now that we have set up tent next to the stairs on the plaza, their parents move closer and sit on the stairs to watch. Some also participate, sit with us and read or draw with their kids.
Gaby kicked off with a reminder of what rights are (let´s not forget the institution she works for seeks to help people, both children and adults, in protecting their rights!) and what comes with them. If you expect your rights to be respected then you also have to make sure that you fill in your part of the contract...As she pointed out, you have a right to education but you also have a responsibility to do your homework, otherwise your right is meaningless! So after she discussed with the kids what kind of rights they have- we actually happily observed they had a pretty comprehensive understanding of what these are- Gaby helped them pair the responsibilities to the rights they had pinpointed.
¨So what is the right to relax actually about?¨ she asked. Answers splashed out: ¨It´s about playing, sleeping, sitting down, being attentive to how you feel, dreaming, doing sports, having fun!¨ These answers were stimulated by a set of images she circulated amongst the group: Ratatouille nibbling on his piece of cheese, a group of chipmunks having a juice enjoying their time together, farmers taking a breath before moving on to their next task.
These images portrayed children, babies, adults, older people as well as animals to remind us all that we share this right. For each of these images, Gaby invited the kids to comment and describe what they saw and what it evoked to them. To each image was also attached a little description and as these were passed on around under the tent, and beyond (for the cooler ones! ;0), those who could read would inform the younger ones. The right to relax, Gaby stressed, is above all about knowing when to change activity: ¨So we can all change position and lie down now¨ threw one of our kids, to which all proceeded in sprawling out on the mats to relax and find the mental space to dream for a short while…

After this informal discussion and thanking Gaby for sharing her thoughts with us, Henri and Santi with the rest of the CEFA girls took over and invited the kids to play a last set of games before departing. During that time, the rest of us sat with those who were feeling quiet and relaxed enough to go back to books and drawings. At the end of the session, the balloons which we had secured to the San Francisco convent wall, were detached and distributed to the kids who happily wandered off with them...
Next week we´ll be looking at the right to information…for this we have to prepare a little as the challenge, beyond securing our ¨speaker¨(!), will be to get the kids in the side activities to work in groups on themes like dance, music, theatre, etc. and find out how and where they can source that information! The idea is also that some of our kids will volunteer to look out for this news weekly (according to their topic of choice of course!) and share it with the rest of the crew. The challenge: what´s on & where, for the cheapest possible, or for free! ;0
Keep on watching this space…

Reading life: education in practice

Over the last couple of weeks, the Quito festivities have taken over the city somewhat getting in the way of our weekly activities! Canelasos, chivas, blaring musical bands on the city´s various corners, cuarenta competitions were all lively distractions that occupied many of Quito´s squares, including la Plaza San Francisco! … So apologies for our ¨silence radio¨ as it appears we are also a little delayed this week in posting this blog… as proper Quiteñans we too had to take part in these!! ;0

So the bad weather was back to strike us again this week- the rainy season pattern in this part of the hemisphere is straightforward: scorching sun in the morning and pouring rains in the afternoon- so we decided to take shelter in the Convent as soon as drops began to appear. One of us remained under the tent on the Plaza to ensure that parents & newcomers would know where to find us. The rest of the crew went straight to the Convent’s patio.

This week, we covered the right to education. The idea was to demonstrate that learning is primarily about being attentive to what is around you, about reading life from where your life experiences make you stand. Fe y Alegria´s (FyA) believes in popular education and its Pedagogy team was present to unravel this approach to the kids. The idea behind FyA going ahead with us on this project was primarily because it provides them with an opportunity to take popular education out of the schoolroom to the streets, test their methodologies and eventually, on a longer term, to reapply these learning back into their schools.

On Wednesday, FyA’s voluntary students (CEFA) also expanded Cuentamelo Todo´s team. Thanks to Henri & Santi, two wonderful students who have been involved with us since we started, a troop of CEFA girls are now mobilized to support the project over the next 6 months. Their mission: ensure the kids make the most of our sessions from a recreational perspective, supporting the values and rights we are working on.

So going back to the right to education, the CEFA team allowed us to make concrete to the kids the fact that education is also about learning from everything that surround us... Indeed, Henri, our first little “cefista” represented the self, explaining to the kids how and what he could learn about and from himself. Fernanda embodied people and revealed how diversity can enrich our lives. Santi, impersonifying the environment, talked about what nature, monuments, and/or contexts bring to us. Finally Carla, concluded on how life, beliefs, dreams and aspirations can make us grow as a person.

A relaxed discussion and sharing of experiences then took place between the kids and Christian and Lorena, FyA’s pedagogues. As you will no doubt notice from the pictures, the session was pretty reflective...maybe this had something to do with the context we were in! ;0

We then moved on to lighter topics and took to the plaza to see what had happened to our Coca Cola experiment from the previous two weeks (Some food for thought). All the kids were very keen to see what had occurred to the chocho (corn) we had said goodbye to along with the coins and a small rock. The experiment did not quite turn out as expected as the chocho looked the same as when it had left us (ok, a little diminished but nothing drastic enough to put the kids off sweet drinks!), the coins were much cleaner (which to our despair, the kids thought was rather cool..) and the stone, well, it remained of stone! Despite the slight flop which we all laughed about, the CEFA team then gathered the troops to carry out some last games, whilst the younger and more ¨quiet¨ ones stayed on with some of us to do a little reading and drawing.

Next week, as rights are not all about serious matters, we´ll be looking thanks to the Defensoria del Pueblo at the right to relax. Indeed, as human beings we have a right to eat well, sleep, learn but also to stay healthy, play, dream, and relax!

Some food for thought

This week's session was a little unusual, between the grey clouds, sporadic rains and few children, we decided to challenge the skies and to stay out on the Plaza. Geoconda and Gladys from the UMSC were back with some of last week' s puppets introducing a few of their follows such as a beetroot, yucca, and a carrot… Because, as they had pointed out at length last week (On the importance of hand washing- and beyond), part of taking care of yourself and being healthy, is about eating well.

We waited patiently for our kids, some of which were busy finishing off their homework, dropped by those we knew to remind them that Jerome, the French chef who also runs a renowned restaurant in Quito(http://www.chezjeromerestaurante.com/), would be sharing a few cooking tips with us… Except it took him a little longer than expected to get there but we´ll cover that later! ;0

So Geoconda and Gladys today chose to sit in a circle and engineer their puppets openly sharing with the kids the virtues of some key foods…such as beans and pees, along with bananas and oranges…With the kids, we understood many things, such as how when you don´t have meat, beans also have the power to bring you the same vital proteins, if not more.
After that, we played a few games, and set out for an experiment that we hope to draw sensible conclusions: we said goodbye to a few coins and a few beans left over from our appetizers with the puppets to a Coca Cola drink… Next week, we will observe what happened to them all…pure sugar in practice. The idea behind this exercise, along with many others that day, was for the kids to understand that with a certain amount of money you can choose to drink a coke but also elect to have water, purchase an ice cream but for the same price buy a bag of beans, which will help you feel better, stronger and most importantly, will be more nutritious.

These notions of choice, taste and health were reinforced by Jerome... who finally made it- Quito can be difficult city to travel through in times of pouring rain and demonstrations…;0 After having sought shelter in the Covento San Franscisco during the hard rain where we carried on playing a few games, the Tianguez Café invited us for an oats drink… Ok, the real secret was that once Jerome had unveiled how to cook ùp his scrumptious menu on the Plaza, the kids would be having a little tasting session in the café! As things never go as planned, we were there before the chef, the menu, and very close to not having any tasting…

Despite the fact we were well past the end of the session though, all the kids were game and stayed on to listen to this person who had elected the strange profession of sharing his passion for food by preparing balanced meals using unusual greens that grow by side roads, like thistle for example! That was on our menu, along with quinoa balls and marinated tomatoes and a simple strawberry salad - all affordable goods from the local market &/or store.

So Jerome displayed his platters and ingredients to the kids, asking them what they eat and how they or their parents prepare meals…After sharing with them the benefits of some of these in both sight and taste and ensuring we know how to prepare these sensibly (rinsing, changing cooking oil regularly, diversifying ingredients, etc.), we then launched into the proper ¨dégustation¨. The kids devoured, some liked, some knew, others tried and burnt their tongues but all made up a mind of their own and understood what they were eating, what good it could bring them and how simple it was to make it so.

Next week we will move on, thanks to our team of Fe y Alegria pedagogists, to what is the right to education. Lorena & Christian will share with the kids what is education beyond that of a schoolroom and how experience and learning are to be found in our daily activities…as, at the end of the day, it is all about being in-tune with what surrounds you and reading life.

Keep on watching this space…

On the importance of hand washing – and beyond!

Our special guests this week were puppets brought in by Geoconda and Gladys from the Unidad Municipal de Salud Centro (UMSC), one of Quito's main public medical institutions.

It was a very animated meeting with plenty of interaction between the puppets and the kids while talking about health issues.

The doctor and nurse puppets gave children advice on how to stay healthy – by eating plenty of fruit and vegetables, washing hands often, exercising and making sure to rest when needed. They told them that if they are sick and need to see a doctor, there are places, such as the UMSC, where one can be seen for free.

But it's not all about eating well and washing one's hands - the puppets also reminded the children that it's important to receive affection from one's parents, and emotional health is as important as physical health in order to be and stay well.

The mother and children puppets talked about how important it is to be healthy – if you are ill, how can you go to school and study, let alone play with your friends? They also talked about the responsibility each of one of us has to take care of ourselves and to let others know if we're not well, so that someone can help us get better.

To finish up the puppet show, Geoconda and Gladys invited some of the children behind the screen to operate the puppets themselves. That's when it was obvious that they had all been listening very attentively! They got their puppets to ask questions to the rest of the audience and each of them improvised a final bit of advice to end the show.

The last one was the youngest puppet, Jonatan who said: “Take care of yourselves, children, health first!” Message received!

At the end of the meeting, Monica, the Cuéntamelo Todo social worker, reminded the children that we work as a platform, and if they or their parents are unsure who to talk to if they are unwell, they can talk to us and we can refer them to the right institutions.

Next week, the UMSC will be back with new puppets, this time, vegetables…to talk about the importance of eating well. They will be supported by Jerome, a leading French chef, who will be revealing to our kids what great meals you can whip up with a few affordable healthy ingredients…Keep on watching this space!

What it means to be living: the right to life

After last week’s general introductory session on human rights with the Defensoria del Pueblo, puppets and paintings this week allowed us to creatively loom into the fundamental right to life.

Christian and Lorena from the Cuéntamelo Todo team started up the session with their key guests, puppets Pancho and Lulu, meeting up in downtown Quito. Pancho counted to Lulu how the previous week he was walking through the plaza and he had come across a gathering of kids being informed about their right to life (Let´s talk about rights). Were some of those children present that day and did they recollect what had been said? Everyone is a unique human being, has the right to be alive and most importantly, should value life. As every other right, it comes with obligations, so we, as human beings, have the duty to respect other living beings. Dogs, like trees and flowers for example, should also be taken care of, said Lulu.

Miguel Yanez, the artist who was with us a few weeks ago (Freedom at the tip of a finger), joined the kids to guide them in depicting this right with the tip of their own finger...Many remembered his technique, and for those who didn't, he revealed it again! Miguel then invited them to illustrate the puppet story.

Following the creative spree and with the help of the kids, he then selected a number of paintings to build a new story based around the right to life and values supporting it. He started with a painting of a sad-looking face and asked the children why it had such an expression. A girl spotted the following painting, that of a flower, and suggested it was because the flower had been cut and was withering. And the story went on ...further unwrapping to the kids why it is important to value life.

Next week, the Unidad Municipal de Salud Centro, one of Quito’s main public medical institutions, more puppets will join us to pursue this journey on rights and introduce us to the world of health.

Following the creative spree and with the help of the children, he then selected a number of paintings to build a new story based on the right to life and the values supporting it. He started with a painting of a sad-looking face and asked the kids why it had such an expression. A little girl spotted the following painting, that of a flower, and suggested it was because the flower had been cut and was withering. And the story went on...further unwrapping to the kids why it is important to value life.

Next week, thanks to the Unidad Municipal de Salud Centro (UMSC), one of Quito's main public medical institutions, more puppets will be joining us to pursue this journey on rights and introduce us to the world of health.

Let's talk about rights

Group work in action...
what are our rights exactly & what should we expect for and from ourselves?

Today we introduced the concept of human rights to our kids with the help of Alexandra Arroyo from the Defensoria del Pueblo. This is a government-appointed body aimed at supervising the respect of human rights in Ecuador, which basically means they provide free legal advise to all people, young and old, to help understand and safeguard their rights. For more information, check out their website http://www.defensordelpueblo.gov.ec/

Alexandra did a great job at explaining challenging concepts through both games and examples. She put together a tic-tac-toe activity where she asked children to put crosses over concepts that did not follow the idea of rights. For example, she asked whether it was true that the interests of adults come before those of kids, to which the children responded unanimously that it wasn't. And there went our first cross!

She then used hangman to spell out the word priority and explained what it meant that children's rights are a priority in society. Children, like the elderly and pregnant women, have priority to sit on buses, she said. And if a boat sinks, children also go first.

We thought it would be harder to tackle these concepts with our kids, but the response was actually really positive. The children identified many of their rights – the right to education, the right to play, the right to life, the right to health care. They also understood their right to protection and recognized different types of violence that one can be a victim of. Alexandra further informed the kids about who to talk to should they be, or know of, victims of psychological, physical, sexual or institutional violence.

This session introduced the concept of rights and what comes with them, namely responsibilities and obligations, to both oneself and society. From now on Cuéntamelo Todo will unravel the variety of rights children have, as human beings and citizens of this world, with a range of partner institutions. We start next week with the right to life. The Defensoria del Pueblo will also be back to explore some of these with our kids, such as the right to dream ...

Freedom at the tip of a finger...

With the tip of a thumb appears a fish, a dog, a cyclist,
a house ....an entire new world

This week we invited Miguel Yanez, a local Ecuadorian artist, to come and share his painting technique with the children. He dipped a finger in paint and showed them how easily one can sketch a dog, a fish or a man. The kids listened attentively and all poured together onto a big board, excited about having their own go.

One big theme we are working on is solidarity, and we saw it in action when the kids all painted together on the board under Miguel's guidance – with some of the older ones showing the younger ones how to sketch.

The greatest commotion came when we handed out individual small canvasses we had prepared for them out of cardboard.

Paula drew a house with a tree, Divina small blue flowers, Leo spread a thick layer of paint on the canvas with his whole hand, while Ana used the colours to write down the name of her favourite band – Linkin Park.

The initial plan was to create a story from their drawings based on the first article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which includes the ideas of equality, freedom and solidarity. But as the sky rumbled on into its winter season and the children kept asking for more canvasses, we decided to take up Miguel's offer to follow up with the stories in a forthcoming session. If you want to find out about Miguel's work, check out his website: http://www.miguelyanez.com

Next week, the Defensoria del Pueblo, a leading Ecuadorian human rights institution, will be introducing the concept of rights to our kids: what is a right, what it represents for a child and the responsibilities that go hand in hand with it.

...Keep on watching this space!

Cuentamelo Todo ...

The Cuentamelo Todo team

Plaza San Francisco is historically Ecuador's market place – already before the Spanish arrived, people from the Pacific coast, the Andes and the Amazons gathered in this part of Quito to trade their goods. Though no official market is currently held here, the plaza continues to be a hub of activity. Every day formal and informal vendors share this space with tourists, shoe shiners and plenty of pigeons under the shadow of the Franciscan complex.

Many of the faces one sees here belong to children. Some polish shoes, busk, sell ice creams and sweets. Others are here because their parents work in the plaza. Some go to school, others don't. Some have a home to go back to and others don't. It is these kids that we, Cuentamelo Todo's team, come to meet every Wednesday and Thursday.

The idea is to engage with them and create new opportunities from the street, their known space. To give them a chance to play together, read and paint but also to talk about their rights as children.

We do so by bringing over books for them to read, by telling and enacting stories with them, and by giving them tools to play.

There is also another key element to our project. Cuentamelo Todo effectively works as a platform, linking the kids and their families with institutions matching their needs – be it shelter, food, education, health care or legal counseling.

We'll be updating this blog weekly after our meetings, so watch this space ...

We´ll be with you shortly...

Plaza San Francisco, Quito, Ecuador

This is a little snapshot of one of our encuentros in La Plaza San Francisco where our Fe y Alegría colleagues performed ¨Le Petit Prince¨ by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. The kids loved our Petit Prince´s fluorescent green hair, our wolf-shedding-into-snake and our king turning into lead singer...

This was also an opportunity to explore key life values such as respect and friendship through a variety of recreational activities like group singing and the essential footy...to much of the old ladies and tourists´distress...;-0