Dia de la Bandera and Super Models

Finally, Dia de la Bandera has come! After the kids had worked hours and hours of learning the procession for Flag Day, they got to present it last Thursday. The event consisted of some parents and children watching on the sides, a table with the administration (I think) at the front, teachers speaking, and the students performing what they had been practicing the previous three weeks. They presented the various flags, sang a few songs (himno nacional - national hymn), and there was even a guest choir from a different public school (who had a hilarious, enthusiastic director (slightly reminded me of my middle school music teacher, Ms. Carpentar)).

Some photosProcessing in... this is definitely the cleanest I've seen them.

Presenting the flags. Each child memorized a paragraph explaining the flag and its importance.

They stood in this formation for about an hour...

It was actually great to see something performed that the kids had worked hard on. So far, this has been the only progress I've actually seen from the foundation. I just wonder what their goals were in doing this event. Though, I think it may have just been to preform the event. If there were none, I think the estimated 45 hours spent on practicing this could have been much more productive.
I'm glad Flag Day is over, and although we were given Mon-Wed. mornings off for this week (which let me extend my weekend), this Thursday we should all be going back and are supposed to 'work as an assistant to our assigned teachers.' Hopefully, my next post will be much more uplifting and I will be able to talk about how I feel like I'm helping and learning with and from the foundation.

*****

There were a few mornings when a bunch of models walked into Fundacion Crecer to see the kids. Some of the kids dressed up and were photographed by the professional photographers. I had heard that the models were for a fundraiser in which the students chose who they liked the best.

The night before Dia de la Bandera, the fundraiser happened, titled, "SUPER (of the world) MODEL." Apparently it's the Ecuadorian version of America's Next Top Model (a reality television show in which a number of women compete for the title of America's Next Top Model and a chance to start their career in the modeling industry (taken from Wikipedia)). So, we, the volunteers, showed up to the Crystal Palace on the Malecon after classes wearing jeans, black shirts (attempting to look uniform), and our huge backpacks, in which we found ourselves sticking out like sore thumbs (is that the saying?) because we had just arrived to an event that had, what we were told, the most wealthy people in Ecuador attending.

We laughed and made some jokes about our appearance and the event, and were reminded from another volunteer that everyone there can speak English. We thought we were going to have to actually volunteer (which, by the way, is not a verb in the Spanish language), but all we had to do was watch. So, we ended up watching a show of models walking back and forth in expensive clothes for the wealthiest people in Ecuador, who, by the way, look very white, so that money could be donated. I was really amazed by how light the people were. It makes me sick how much white skin is prefered here (I'll write more later about it).

Unfortunately, because the other volunteers and I came right after class we ran to eat something, which caused us to miss my students who had been photographed earlier and chosen to walk as models. Melissa, the girl who I've actually worked with most at Fundacion Crecer, who's missing a forearm, won the model for the children. The sociology/critical side of Anna wants you to make your own reflection on that...

There are a few things, that I'm sure those of you who know me well can guess, that I felt about this event. Here are children who have previously worked on the streets, many of them, if not all, have experienced starvation, they eat meals at school that no American school would ever serve, and there's a fundraiser for them featuring models. I understand, money's got to come from some place. But isn't it ironic that the most wealthy people came to this event to watch girls who looked like they were going to fall backwards, who didn't even have bodies to fill out the dresses they were supposed to be modeling, and couldn't or weren't allowed to smile, to make it possible for Fundacion Crecer to run another year.

I'm going to ask how much money was raised and will let you know. I've posted pictures, just so you can get some kind of idea.