SALEM-Ecuador: Good school reports for the children
08.12.2009What do good marks have to do with clean school uniforms? Not much, one would think. A stain on the shirt may have no influence on a child’s performance in algebra, but in the Mindo village Catholic school in Ecuador, the nuns in charge keep a careful eye on the scrupulous cleanliness of the pupils’ clothes.
“Otherwise there’s going to be trouble” Malte Fähnders explains. He currently runs the SALEM house in Mindo. “Sometimes the children may even be sent home because of it”.
For 13 children in Mindo, to go home means to go to the SALEM home. There they can live, learn and, much more importantly, just be children. In their original homes, alcoholic fathers or young, single mothers who are unable to cope are waiting for them. These are widespread problems in Mindo. In the afternoon, 30 more children come to the SALEM house so that they can do their homework without being disturbed.
The way home from school is muddy in places so it is inevitable that their uniforms become dirty – especially when a spontaneous soccer match takes place! This is why the washing machine in the SALEM home has constantly been running: for six years, ten times a day. At a rough estimate that is 15,000 washing cycles! In the face of this you cannot blame the machine for becoming weaker. It does not pump the water properly any more. The clothes remain dripping wet and dry hard in the tropical climate. “But it is nearly impossible to find an expert to repair it here, never mind spare parts” Malte Fähnders says. “We simply need a new washing machine.”
The project manager will need to buy one in the capital town of Quito which is more than two hours car journey away. “This is, of course, a huge drain on time, but if I could buy a new oven at the same time we would have killed two birds with one stone.” The new kitchen is SALEM’s pride and joy. But the old gas cooker is on its last legs. “But cooking is the children’s great passion!” the 36-year-old narrates with enthusiasm that leaves one in no doubt that everyone enjoys cooking in SALEM-Equador!
A new washing machine and a new cooker are things that the children definitely deserve. Recently, they received their reports. In Ecuador there are marks from 1 to 20. Out of 13 SALEM children, 9 have marks of 15 or above! “We are more than satisfied with their performances at school” and Malte Fähnders is pleased. His conclusion: “The time and the support given by SALEM-Ecuador is definitely worth it!” Hardly anything else in Mindo will make the children’s future bloom more than education.
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