I arrived in Ecuador just over a week ago (10:20pm on the 5th of August, to be exact). I don't think I've ever squeezed so much into a week. Two of my housemates whom I will be working with at Manna met me at the airport, and we began the taxi ride back to Manna house in Sangolqui. Sangolqui is a suburb located at the south of Quito. I almost passed out when I got there (I had been travelling since 3am that morning - Dallas to Ft Lauderdale, Ft Lauderdale to Atlanta, and Atlanta to Quito). The next day I was straight into work. The Manna 'philosophy' is to get stuck in to work it all out. There was some handover. We had our team meeting which happens every Tuesday. There were five of us at that meeting. The Country Director, the Manna Centro director, a Program Director who had been in post for a year (and was leaving in two days), and two fellows who had started approximately 2-3 weeks before me. From them, I had some idea of what I would be doing for the next year; although it was clear this could change.
It is a true saying you don't really know what a job / volunteer placement is asking from you until you arrive... 'suck it and see' in a way. From my limited time at Manna so far I can see the organisation is in a period of flux and change. Manna began its operations in Nicaragua, and expanded to Guatemala and Ecuador some years later. Its vision is to cultivate young leaders through grassroots community development work; predominantly in the arenas of health, education and livelihoods. Since its inception, it has been heavily volunteer-focused. This is an organisation that US undergraduates and graduates would consider for an internship - both short-term or long-term. This can be for a number of reasons, which include: (i) to improve their Spanish; (ii) to gain experience working in international community development; (iii) voluntourism, i.e. to use volunteering as a means to travel; (iv) to gain experience in health, education or livelihoods; and (v) to do something completely different. Placements at Manna range from 1 week (spring breakers) to 13 months.
Prior to the arrival of the two fellows and myself, the volunteer roles at Manna consisted of Program Directors, Assistant Program Directors and the shorter-term interns. It has now expanded to include a Director for Research and Program(me)s and Fellows. The sites at Guatemala and Nicaragua have also closed due to a variety of reasons. So, Manna is now the Ecuador site only and there is a shared recognition it needs to develop and adapt to changing times.
I see what's happening at Manna fairly representative of wider scale changes in international development. Organisations that have been financially dependent on volunteers have taken quite a hit due to the backlash of voluntourism, and the introduction of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which place a stronger emphasis on bottom-up and holistic development; with sustainable outcomes for the communities involved, not the organisations. This has affected grant and sponsor funding, as well as funding that comes through volunteers. Funders are looking for more evidence that predominantly volunteer-run development organisations are adhering to the SDGs and are putting the needs of communities - rather than volunteers - first. Whilst Manna has always consistently placed the needs of its communities as a core concern, it now needs to make sure that the needs of its volunteers do not overshadow its communities. And volunteers realise they will be able to secure better employment opportunities if they work with an organisation that is recognised as doing 'authentic' community development work.
For me, this is a challenging but ideal context to work in. I've read so much research about this and taught on it, but haven't actually lived through it in practice (it was the Millennium Development Goals when I was last a practitioner). So, my role is helping the organisation to complete its transformation. This is through monitoring, evaluation, training and expansion. All things I am happy to undertake.
There will be a lot of work involved. My days are long and I have to use any extended time I have to explore Ecuador. Which I have been doing. It was a national holiday weekend last week so I went to Tena and Misahualli to explore the Amazonian jungle. It was spectacular. The drive there was even more spectacular. Ecuador is a very beautiful country. It is much greener than I ever expected. Once you get outside Quito, it is just emerald loveliness. I am very lucky to be here. To begin a new chapter of my life surrounded by such loveliness, opportunities and people. It is a real privilege to become acquainted with South America and my impressions so far of Ecuadorean people have impressed me. The local children and volunteers are a breath of fresh air, and the community so kind and welcoming. It really is a pleasure to be here. But, it will be hard work. 12 months will tell if it has been worth it...
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