Summer School in Ecuador

While the concept of attending school during one´s vacation period may seem somewhat repugnant to many students around the world, the opposite proved to be true in Ecuador. For six weeks in July and August, all the kids at Larcacunga, Muenala, and Huayrapungo enjoyed themselves at summer school.

With the general theme of “Ecuador mi pais”, summer school emphasised a reinforcement of the student’s knowledge in math, language, and social science, as well as the inclusion of activities in music, art, and PE. For the high school children it was a fun packed two days of active English lessons!

Further, these weeks proved to be productive for GVI Phoenix in terms of community development, with the construction of 4 cuy houses. Cuy (the Kitchwa word for guinea pigs) are considered a culinary delicacy in Ecuador, with the sale of each fetching upwards of US$5. With each house potentially holding 60-100 cuy, these facilities provide the families with an independent means of economic sustainability that goes straight to supporting their high school education.

Finally, the students partook in a special school day designed entirely around the legend of the phoenix. As a fun end to this day, an art competition was held with each student designing their own phoenix to be used as the new Phoenix Ecuador logo. Congratulations to Beatriz from Larcacunga for her winning design!

Summer School in Ecuador