A group of Dehonian volunteers started their mission in Ecuador in July. It is a different kind of summer for them, a summer with a focus on the most needy.
Volunteers arrived in Quito with dreams of a wonderful experience. Fr. José Antonio Casalé accompanied them. After Mass at Miravalle with the young people who are in the formation program in Quito, they were divided into two groups. One stayed in Quito and the other in Bahia de Caraquez.
The young people are in different situations but see similar needs. One group is in the mountains, one on the coast. But all have the same goal: to help others and to grow peronsally as people.
Quito
The young people who stayed in Quito from San Francisco Javier University in Valencia (Gabriel García, Mónica Sirvent, Abel González, Silvia Sirvent and Adrián González) started their work in a center for the elderly where they went on walks and shared in games and other experiences with a smile and a sense of gratitude.
These volunteers had the opportunity to cook, serve and distribute food to those who needed it. You can get to know the poorest areas by providing the food needed every day.
They had days to get to know the place and its people. Accompanied by young parishioners they visited the Virgino of Panecillo, a beautiful Madonna that is over 40 meters tall. It is considered the largest aluminum sculpture in the world.
Bahia de Caraquez
At Bahia de Caraquez, Santi Leganés began his service by giving English lessons to the young at the Domus Cordis training center. In this service he was accompanied by a family from Durham, North Carolina, who gave the young people a conference on values. Santi gives the people joy and enthusiasm.
He still has several weeks to continue to know a reality other than his, and to bring his small contribution to the mission and see life with different eyes.