Photograph by George Sakkestad
One of Steve Sloan's volunteer duties this summer was to vaccinate dogs for rabies when he lived with a family in Ecuador. Murphy (right) did not make the trip, but seems happy that Steve has returned.
By KATHERINE PETERSEN
Steve Sloan, 17, vowed not to eat bananas for a long time after sampling them cooked in all forms during his eight weeks in Chone, Ecuador, this summer.
Sloan and two other Sunnyvale teen-agers participated in the Amigos de las Americas program, working on health projects and making friends in Ecuador. The private, non-profit organization sends volunteers to various Latin American countries to do community work.
Amigos de las Americas first began as a community project in Honduras in 1965 and has since spread to other countries.
Sloan and Mark Paustenbach, who both attend Bellarmine College Prep, and Julie Hungerford, who attends Homestead High School, spent much of their summers in Ecuador working on rabies vaccination and environmental education projects. They were also involved in teaching dental health and nutrition.
Other programs included school renovation, human immunizations, construction of fuel-efficient stoves, reforestation and community sanitation.
Sloan and his three partners vaccinated 6,000 dogs and cats for rabies during eight weeks in Chone and surrounding communities, where there had been an epidemic. They had their clinics in schools, churches and parks.
"We'd ride through town and use a megaphone to let people know we were there and that they could bring their dogs to us," he said.
Many areas they visited to vaccinate dogs were rural communities amongst the many banana plantations.
"There were a lot of farmers who had a lot of kids and very little money. They lived in cement houses with thatched roofs. Most of the kids had no shoes. The families had to have TVs, although a lot of them didn't have running water," Sloan said.
Sloan wanted to visit Ecuador to get a better understanding of how people live in other countries and to improve his Spanish. He lived in Chone, an Americanized city, with a family wealthy by Ecuadoran standards.
"My family would do anything to make me happy. They'd run out to the store to get something for me, even if it wasn't a big deal," he said. He enjoyed living with three Ecuadoran brothers, ages 16 to 26, and his host family called to wish him a happy birthday two weeks ago.
His Spanish improved so much while he was there that, with two weeks left, he could understand everything.
Sloan said he noticed strong family bonds in rich families as well as poor. "Family comes first. My [host] grandmother lived with me. Every weekend all our aunts and uncles would come over for a get-together," he said. "It seemed like they had more time to spend with each other."
Hungerford, 17, on the other hand, lived in Cotopaxi, a small community in the Andes mountains, teaching people how to build latrines and about community sanitation. The community was not as poor as she expected, and she was welcomed warmly.
"I've always been interested in South American culture and helping people. Before the latrines were built, we had to use the cornfields," she said with a laugh.
She met everyone in the small community of three towns and 34 homes because she would have breakfast at one house and the rest of her meals with different families. "I had so much potato soup. They also fed us guinea pig, which tasted like a combination of chicken and fish. Not eating the food would have been an insult," she said.
Everybody looked older than they were, Hungerford said. Women worked in the fields harvesting food for families and the animals.
"They didn't sell the food. The men worked in the bigger cities doing construction to earn money. Women couldn't work because it is not acceptable," she said.
Her family had five kids and she would spend evenings with them playing cards, talking or reading.
"They had one black-and-white TV with very poor reception," she said.
The friendliness of her community stands out in her mind. People shake hands and say hello to everyone on the street, she said.
"People always talk to you. If you don't shake their hand, it's an insult," Hungerford said.
Hungerford appreciated the months of training beforehand because it prevented culture shock.
"They taught us how to work with the people, how to be culturally sensitive," she said.
The 33 Amigos volunteers in the Santa Clara Valley Amigos chapter underwent seven months of weekly training sessions before embarking on their summer volunteer projects. Each volunteer helps to raise the $3,500 necessary to fund participation in the project.
Amigos volunteers live with local families in specific Latin American communities, which they assist through their chosen projects.
Potential Amigos volunteers must be 16 by May 1 and must be a native speaker of Spanish or have completed two years of Spanish before they leave.
Anyone interested in the Amigos de las Americas program can contact Joanne Walsh at 358-3359.
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, September 18, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.