Day of the Flag in Ecuador

The sun greeted the children, families and volunteers from all four of the Phoenix Communities on Friday 27th February. After all the rain we had been having, this was lucky for everyone as this was Día de la Bandera.




A day of civic ceremony when the proud parents of Grade 7 children get to present the top achievers with sashes and certificates recognising their individual achievements in both academic and conduct marks in school.

And this year was extra special as it fell to the community of Huayrapungo to host one of the ceremonies attended by five other local schools, including Urcusiqui and Muenala.

After we spent the week shopping with the parents from Huayrapungo for all the necessary supplies to feed the hungry guests, the Mums and Dads got the fires started and commenced peeling the mountain of vegetables at 5am on the Friday morning.

During the day, they popped out from the kitchen to see their children marching down the hill to the school and then see the presentations and hear the speeches made by the highest achievers, the Abanderados, from each school.

We watched for Oscar (Huayrapungo), Edgar (Muenala), Rosita (Urcusiqui) and, in a separate ceremony, Marcos (Larcacunga).







Certificates and sashes presented, the children sang songs honouring their country and in turn the Abanderados, Escultas (2nd and 3rd placed children) and all other 7th Grade children marched smartly forward and kissed the flag.
At the end of the ceremony the children all marched proudly offstage to take photos with their parents and teachers.

Day of the Flag in Ecuador