Fundraising Event! For those of you who live in or near Montclair, New Jersey, a fundraising race is being organized by middle school students to help fund the kindergarten sponsored by the Mojanda Foundation in rural Ecuador. If you are interested in participating, sponsoring a runner or pledging a matching grant, Please email us at mojanda@uio.telconet.net Please read on for more information about this project.

Creating a Child Oriented Approach to Early Childhood Education in Rural Ecuador: A Volunteer’s Perspective

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Through the support of The Mojanda Foundation, our little rural community of Mojandita de Curuvi has had a kindergarten for seven years now. This year, the kindergarten - named the Betti Sachs Kindergarten - has 21 students between three and five years of age. As Mojandita is an indigenous, rural community, the kindergarten children also reflect their indigenous Otavalan roots; about half are indigenous Otavalans while the other half are mestizos, meaning of mixed indigenous and European ancestry. Many speak Quichua in addition to Spanish. The parents are subsistence-level farmers, who have many times expressed their desire for the improved education of their children. Since families here have very scarce economic resources, it has been difficult to realize many of the improvements that they seek. It is an important community and Mojanda Foundation goal to improve the educational process and experience for the children of Mojandita.

In establishing the kindergarten, Betti and Diego have tried to focus on the pedagogy of Maria Montessori whose approach to early childhood education has earned worldwide acclaim. Montessori-style education is based on providing children with a relaxed but structured environment in which each child has the independence to choose and direct many of their daily educational activities. The children are permitted to choose their own materials and activities during at least a good portion of the school day, with the guidance of their teachers whenever needed. Allowing children this level of independence is contrary to the rigid, rote- memorization required by traditional curricula. In addition, these regimented methods discourage creativity and critical thinking. It is easy to think of times in our own schooling in which it felt good to be able to decide what and how to do a certain project or classroom assignment. Oftentimes, children in rural public schools in Ecuador are reprimanded for using their own creative ideas and solutions when they do not produce an identical result to that which the teacher requires.

In order to continue to integrate more Montessori philosophy, creativity and child-oriented education into the kindergarten, a number of things are needed. All kindergartens need materials and this is certainly the case in a Montessori classroom. Along with allowing children the opportunity to initiate their own school activities, Montessori-style education requires having access to enough well-designed and durable hands-on materials for the children to choose from and to be able to vary these offerings over the school year. Additionally, the kindergarten is in constant need of very basic materials such as notebooks, paper, pencils, markers, paints, crayons and books. The yearly purchase of school supplies is very costly for poor families, many of whom earn little more than one hundred dollars a month. In some regions, children do not attend school because their families cannot buy the required supplies.

Another important part of changing the rigid educational model is providing teacher training. The teachers here in the countryside have been educated in the traditional memorization-based system already described, even though they are interested in learning about the alternative approaches described in the new education law. It is very difficult for a teacher to feel comfortable and in control in a Montessori classroom when they have not been previously taught how to interact with children in this type of setting. Thus, training programs for the kindergarten teachers are necessary in order to allow the teachers to feel that they can effectively utilize the child-oriented techniques of Montessori education.

Your financial contributions will greatly assist in providing enriching educational materials and teacher training. Your dollars will go a long way down here, and your assistance will help advance the ongoing project of improving the quality of education of the children here in Mojandita de Curuvi.

By Benjamin Goldstein, 2004, Mojandita, Ecuador

(A 2003 graduate of Brown University, Ben has been volunteering with the Mojanda Foundation for the 2003-2004 school year, teaching kindergarten, English and basic computers skills to the children of Mojandita.)

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Lifelong Learning in the Campo: A Goal of the Mojanda Foundation

Almost from its inception, the Mojanda Foundation has worked closely with the Federico González Suárez School, a rural public school which serves many families of Mojandita. As a tiny rural school, it was sorely lacking in basic materials and supplies, particularly books. Foundation supporters have for several years donated Spanish children's books, math materials, maps, learning games and puzzles, globes, art supplies, typewriters and athletic equipment, as well as built furniture and painted a and insulated deteriorated classrooms.

In addition, Foundation volunteers have given classes in music, art, reading and English. We have offered classes in environmental education, stressing the importance of preserving our very unique ecosystem and natural resources. An organic vegetable garden has also been started at the school, with the aim of providing fresh produce for the children's breakfasts and lunches. Many Casa Mojanda guests have brought their skills, talents and love of children to the Mojandita school, and have become part of a dynamic new teaching and learning experience in Mojandita.

The Betti Sachs Kindergarten In l997, the Mojanda Foundation refurbished three unused classrooms and sponsored a new kindergarten program in one of them. Now in its sixth year, the kindergarten serves children from three to five, and is entirely free. A nutritious lunch is served each day to the children, funded by generous help from the Guaguacuna Foundation of Spain. The kindergarten utilizes early childhood education techniques pioneered by the progressive Italian educator Maria Montessori. Using specially designed Montessori materials donated by Mojanda Foundation supporters in Sweden, the children are allowed freedom to choose their own materials each day from the shelves and work independently and in small groups. Twenty-one bright youngsters currently attend the kindergarten, looked over by an extraordinary and dedicated teacher, Maria Nieves. Kindergarten children now enjoy art projects, music, role-playing games and trips to town to visit friends at a Montessori school in Otavalo, and nature outings to the waterfall, thermal swimming pools and the Mojanda Lakes.

A Library in Our Future? In Ecuador, the price of books is well out of reach for most rural Ecuadorians. And while most graduates from primary school have learned to read, the sad fact is that the majority of rural folk cannot afford to buy books. For this reason, we are now seeking funding for a small lending library and cultural center for both adults and children in the Mojandita community.

Earth walls and a straw roof? It has been proposed by community leaders that the library and cultural center be contructed using the ancient pre-colonial construction method of bareque -- with walls of earth and wood and a straw thatched roof -- but well insulated from moisture for the bookshelves and tables. Seed money is currently being sought to fund this project, where those with building skills may choose to come to Ecuador and participate in the building process along with local community members. Any donation of Spanish books would be most welcome. Please contact the Mojanda Foundation for further information.

What can you do to help? As always, your ideas and contributions are most welcome. Our work depends financially on voluntary contributions from those who support our goals. Financial contributions of any amount will be gratefully received. Likewise any clothes, or goods suitable for use in the school or health center you can bring yourselves (if visiting Ecuador) would be very welcome. Please contact us for an up-to-date list of local needs. And please pass along this information and website address to friends who may be in a position to help. For your kind support, past, present and future - Muchas Gracias!