BYU Interns: A Lifetime of Difference in Ecuador

BYU Interns travel to Ecuador to learn from and teach the people of two communities.

 

Top left, Tiffany Jackson installs a garden fence with a child from La Rinconada; middle right, Toria Cutler walks with Cuambo children huddled beside and hanging from her; bottom left, Laura Hubbard and Heather Flint measure the height of a Cuambo Child.

Brigham Young University students Heather Flint, Laura Hubbard, Toria Cutler, and Tiffany Jackson traveled to Ecuador as interns for the Ezra Taft Benson Agriculture and Food Institute to improve malnutrition and detrimental living situations. Arriving on 16 April 2000, Flint, Hubbard, Cutler, and Jackson, under the direction of Interim Director Luis V. Espinoza and Ecuador’s country coordinator Raquel Tustón, focused their efforts in the rural Ecuadorian communities of La Rinconada and Cuambo.

La Rinconada

La Rinconada is a plentiful valley where local subsistence farmers suffer from nutritional and sanitary deficiencies. This indigenous village is located in the highlands of Imbabura, a northern province of Ecuador. Ecuador’s official language is Spanish; however, most community members speak Quichua, a native dialect of the region. Daily rain showers, waterfalls, rivers, and underground pipes provide the community with water. Out of a population of 313, nearly 50 percent of the adults have not completed primary school. Macro and micro-nutrient deficiencies are evident through stunted growth patterns, loss of eyesight, diseased organs, and premature death. Advances in the community were made as Flint, Hubbard, Cutler, and Jackson worked in areas of agriculture and nutrition.

Flint and Hubbard, dietetic students, and Ph.D. candidate Cutler researched percentages of malnutrition. In this study, the weights and heights of children under the age of 15 were recorded. Data showed significant percentages of malnutrition among the community.

Surveys were also performed to collect data concerning pregnancy, childbirth, and child health care. Headed by Toria Cutler, the interns interviewed 25 mothers. Conclusive results suggested the common cold, “bad air,” and diarrhea to be the most common illnesses. Children were normally vaccinated to avoid diseases, and surrounding plants were often used for treating daily ailments. With respect to pregnancy and childbirth, most women bare children at home with their husband in attendance. A placenta is considered special and is “not thrown out like trash,” said one member of the community. Instead, it is buried in or near the home. Culter’s research provided data for current projects and could serve as a springboard for additional studies.

While sitting along the riverbank, an elderly resident embroiders. Embroidery is a source of income as well as a domestic tradition.

With a need for nutritional improvement having been established, Tiffany Jackson, agronomy student, built vegetable gardens with the children and faculty members of La Rinconada’s Gonzalo Pizarro elementary school to improve community health. Luis V. Espinoza noted, “A school is often the heart of a community and a place where improvements can be introduced in an unthreatening way.” Before the interns arrived, studies were performed showing that 50 percent of the villagers did not consume vegetables; correlating to these studies only 7 out of the 76 families within the community grew a vegetable garden. Jackson’s project more than quadrupled this number. Faculty, students, and interns planted vegetable plants with consideration to cultural acceptance and the nutritional needs of the community. Vegetables such as broccoli, Swiss chard, cabbage, beets, spinach, onions, and carrots were planted. Local Benson Institute–sponsored students expanded the project by continuing to plant vegetable gardens with other interested families within the village.

Toria Cutler works with a child in Ecuador to plant a school garden, which will provide children with more nutritious lunches.

Unhealthy living environments were also improved. Traditionally, village women cook using pit fires enclosed by poorly ventilated structures. Researchers speculate that smoke from the open flames causes premature deaths in community members because of the respiratory infections and lung cancer that can result. Raquel Tustón, the interns, and community members renovated the school kitchen by installing windows, re-cementing walls, and constructing an adobe brick stove. The stove featured a chimney that released smoke outdoors. “This stove will serve as a blueprint for other community members,” remarked Ruben Cañamar, the school curator. He later gratefully expressed, “The stove begins a future of new improvement and learning.”

Near the end of the seven weeks, interns used previously gathered information concerning the needs of the community to prepare and teach lessons to the children of La Rinconada and other members of the community. Interactive props such as puppets, songs, and life-size puzzles were used, and activities such as educational relay races were planned. Cutler, Flint, Hubbard, and Jackson taught lessons pertaining to themes of safe pest control, sanitary water, healthful and effective food preparation and storage, oral rehydration for diarrhea victims, and well-balanced nutritious meals.

Cuambo

Cuambo, located in the southeast corner of Imbabura, is a culturally rich, but a nutritionally poor community of 204 inhabitants. The Cuambo Valley is said to have been a regional fortress for the black ancestors of current community members. During the conquest of the Spaniards, black slaves fled to Cuambo. There they escaped from their masters who could not survive the high temperatures and dryness of the Cuambo Valley.

Cuambo continues to be hot. Extreme dryness increases crop susceptibility to pests and diseases. Corroded water pipes often break; forcing community members to carry water from the riverbed located approximately five miles outside the village. Nearly 90 percent of all the land is owned by a nonresidential landowner. As rent, community members are required to pay half of all that is produced. Little, if any, of the community’s produce is consumed by locals.

The interns analyzed the area, offered humanitarian aid, and taught nutritional lessons. Due to inaccessible roads, interns were unable to enter Cuambo until a month after their arrival. Using the time remaining, interns gathered data to determine levels of malnutrition. According to Laura Hubbard and Heather Flint’s calculations, nearly 7 percent of school-aged children and 28 percent of children under five were malnourished. Cutler and Jackson medically assisted wounded community members, and Jackson researched the practices used by farmers when fumigating. Interns used results from their investigations to tailor and present lessons to the children of Cuambo.

Nutritional Data: Spring 2000 interns collected data showing rates of malnutrition among children under the age of five in two Ecuadorian communities. % malnutrition by weight % malnutrition by height % weight and height malnutrition La Rinconada       girls 19.0 57.2 9.5 boys 26.7 80.0 6.7 Cuambo girls 28.5 21.4 14.2 boys 27.8 27.8 16.7

Children in Cuambo pose for a picture.

Conclusion

The Ecuador Spring 2000 internship was an experience that, as Tustón stated, “Neither the interns nor the people of Ecuador will forget.” Interns applied their knowledge and vivacity to serve, as they improved the quality of life among Ecuadorians. Heather Flint added, “It was not just a two month internship—it was the beginning of a lifetime of service.”