To the beat of the drum!

This evening I went with Carmen, Andrea and Ema to watch a local drum group called Caracu Quemao.

They practice twice a week, once on a Tuesday and once on a Sunday and we were lucky enough to catch tonights rehearsal!

At first they heated the drums using fire as this made for a better sound. They then took to the streets of Colonia playing through the town as passers by stood and admired their performance...some even followed them through the town. Not only were there drums but there were also dancers dancing infront to the beat if the drums.

The performance ended in the historical part of the town and it made for a perfect picture to end such a great day.

Caracu Quemao aren't the only group to do this. There a several drum and dancing groups in Colonia and they rehearse in preparation for the Las Llamadas festival in January and the carnival in Feburary. At these events there are competitions between the groups and winners are announced. This is taken very seriously and the best groups often get invited to weddings in the town.

National Reserve

Today I visited the National Reserve founded by Aaron Anchorena.

Aaron travelled many places all over the world and arrived in Colonia by a hot air ballon! He immediately liked the land (at which the National Reserve is now based) and he bought the land and started to build on it. He built houses, brought deers and planted trees as well as bringing other cultural influences from the places that he had travelled.

When he died he left a part of the land to the Uruguyan government so that the people of Uruguay could visit his beautiful place. It is named the Anchorena Parque. The Parque is now inhabited by soldiers who take care of the land. There are also tours for people who want to visit and learn and that is what myself, Carmen and Andrea and her family did today.

When Aaron died he left the rest of his land to his relatives. To this day the land is still owned by Anchorenas family.

So What?

Today I attended a seminar called "Breaking the Barriers" run by mathematician Daniel Goldman. He started with a few ice breakers that were focused on the topic of the day...that was to think outside the box. To think about and approach problems in different ways in order to find different solutions.

We were first asked to multiply one of our organs by however many we wanted and explain the use of our new additions to the group. Individuals came up with similar organs but with different uses. It was really interesting to hear peoples different ideas. One person wanted to add an ear to their stomach in order to listen more to what they thought on the inside and not on the out. Another was a chef and wanted to have more hands to be more efficient.

The activity stimulated my mind and encouraged me to see things from different perspectives.

Throughout the day we explored approaches to finding solutions to problems. It became clear that the more specific the problem was the better the solutions we could make. This demonstrated systematic inventive thinking.

One method Daniel introduced was his 'game theory' approach. This is an upward thinking approach towards problem solving. It encouraged us to identify a problem and after doing so ask the question "so what?" With our answer we were then told to again ask the question "so what?", and so on and so forth. In doing so we were able to identify that the initial problem was not in fact the real problem. Instead it allowed us to identify where the real problem lay and who this was associated with. Our solutions were then tailored to the needs and interests of these people.

A very interesting and stimulating approach to problem solving.

How to begin?

I always struggle with writing the blog. But today I'm really lost for words. 

We visited a children's home where George (our guide) works. How do I express how I felt in that hour? How do I share the stories that shocked me? But the children that amazed me.  

We are constantly shown images of neglect on tv and the Internet. But being in the environment today seeing the reality of what some of the people out here are facing is basically terrifying. Seeing children in that position is even more heartbreaking.

I met an inspirational woman today named Florin. She is owner/manager and Mother at the home. 

She tells me that she has worked and ran this home for 27 years. Even her own 4 children live there.  

The aim, to have a big home with an even bigger family presence. 

I was taken on a tour of the house which wasn't very big and the poor drainage can be smelt throughout. There are 47 children living here and over the years thousands have passed through the doors. 

Florin tells me that she used to receive a small amount of money from the state to support each child. This stopped in March! Everything stopped in March! No money for the children no wages for the staff, nothing. 

This woman along with a dedicated number of now volunteers, cook, clothe and support these young people that range from age 2 to age 18. 

The young people themselves were incredible. So polite and interested in why we were there. The young ones wants to play with my gadgets and the older ones wanted to know about where we were from. 

These guys are living in the home because of the neglect and abuse they have experienced. It was clear to me that each and everyone of them was grateful for everything Florin and her team are doing for them. 

My emotions during that time are so difficult to share. I was deeply touched by what I saw and the hard work going on. These people have very little, they face hardship each day. But they are a family and the passion that each of them have for the centre and the work it does is evident. 

I'm really going to reflect on today and take it forward with me. I'm lucky for the experiences and the opportunities I have had so far and this shouldn't be taken for granted. 

Hasta luego

Amy

Building block by building block...

Today saw my first full day of job shadowing in Colonia.

This morning Carmen and I went to Andreas offices to rehearse our prezi's and presentations for this evenings seminar.

We also went to visit a Youth Workshop which hosted a group of young people aged 16-25 out of education. The workshop welcomed guest speaker Daniel Goldman and focused on inspiring and motivating the young people in continuing in their part-time training in woodwork and building.

The lecture was evaluated by the group and well recieved. There also appeared to be a true togetherness within the group and this was demonstrated in the "down time" after the lecture. The young people engaged in eating, dancing and joking around, allowing eachother to be themselves in a friendly and supportive environment. It was great to see and even better to be a part of!

This evening I, along with representatives of other organisations delievered our presentations. I had a translator so luckily nothing was lost in translation! I learnt of various local activities being run through local schools and organisations as well as other projects being run abroad. The projects promoted the upskilling of young people and encouraged young people to take ownership of various activities.

One local activity run by JCI sees the launch of a recycling project using plastic bottles and sand to build bus and walking shelters in the community of Colonia. Recycling is a real issue over here...they have the land but not the knowledge to know what do to with recycable materials.

The seminar has got me thinking about how I can use my sports background into creating a project that promotes 2020 thinking...I will now go to brainstorm with a beer as I celebrate the success of todays seminar with my new friends :)

Ruth

Passion drives me!!!

This afternoon I visited Amnesty international. Roberto my host works with the members of this organisation for his work with rural and indigenous people.  

Whilst there I met a young woman named Sonia Agudo. She is originally from Spain and now works in Paraguay for Amnesty. 

Sonia told me of a project she is setting up in Paraguay, called 'Making the invisible visible'. 

She is working hard with a local artist to create portraits of members of the indigenous communities to be show at an art event. The aim that the art will speak to a wide range of viewers to help promote the issue the country has with hiding the people and the problems. 

At the launch event Sonia has invited an organisation called 'The Landfill Orchestra'. This is a fantastic project, defiantly check them out on YouTube. Basically they recycle materials out of landfill sites into instruments for young people. To give them the opportunity to find music. 

Right back to work. This isn't a holiday you know. 

Open your eyes and see...

Today I was really disturbed to find out that Paraguay is the poorest country in South America.

It is clear from the level of poverty around that the country has problems. One of the biggest is with land owners kicking the indigenous people off the land. 

Next week David and myself will be going to work with these communites and finding out more about how their lives and culture is being destroyed. How they are being pushed out of their homes and hidden in broad daylight.  

These people now live in make shift houses right at the road side. Where death by oncoming vehicles is a possible and constant threat. 

I know that visiting these people will be really moving and emotional. I will open my eyes and really see the difficulties they are facing. But I hope that I can learn a lot from the experience there and work with the organisations to create sustainable projects for the people of these communities. 

To Boldly Go...

Congratulations to Ruth and Amy for enduring all sorts of hardships and actually making it to their exotic destinations. They are true pioneers taking Momentum World into a whole new continent.

I made it!! (It's Ruth here by the way)

Safe and sound in Uruguay having caught a bus and a boat to Colonia!!

Met up with Andrea no problemo. Today I have also met Carmen who is job shadowing out here with me. Both Andrea and Carmen speak great english...phew! But it has made me think that I shouldnt take that for granted and so I am learning and intend to keep on learning spanish.

Had a lovely afternoon watching a street festival in the sun and taking in the tranquility of Colonia...tomorrow is when the work starts as I deliver my 2020 education presentation.

On that note I shall say goodnight as I want to be well rested for tomorrow but I shall leave you with a picture of Colonia...

Buenos noches x

Morning Mate - a few words from Amy

So this morning at 5am I arrived in the capital. Where I was net my Roberto and George. 

George will be working with me all week and il find out more about what will happen as the day goes on. 

For now George gives me a traditional drink here in South America and takes me out for breakfast. 

The Mate is drank out of a special cup called Guano. The herb mix is added to the cup and hot water which is carried in a thermos is added.  A special straw called a bombilla is inserted in the cup which filters out the herbs.

The drink is very social and one cup is often passed between people and topped up. In the afternoon it is drank cold. 'Te rere' is a local word for this which means tea to share around.

Cheesy bread washes all the herbal tea down. Tastes like having mini pizza for breakfast :). 

Feet on the ground in Paraguay

So after a very long flight and a wait in São Paulo I'm here in Ciudad del Este.  Not quite the end of my journey yet. I am catching a bus at midnight that will take six hours to the capital city Asuncion. 

So sleeping on the move. But I can't complain, I'm having it much simpler than Ruth's journey so far. 

Also I've been keeping a video diary of my progress. Put it this way that I'm getting more confident talking to myself on camera in front of complete strangers. 

Ciao for now! Pizza time 

Adaptability

So what started as a smooth depature from Heathrow ended in a chaotic dash to try make my connecting flight from Chicago to Miami...which I missed by 20 minutes due to queues coming through passport control and customs.

 

Because of this my airline company put me up in a hotel for the night and I am to fly from Chicago to Miami today at 10:00AM.

 

Slowly but surely I am on my way and I am geared up for another day of travel! I have learnt that a plan is just a plan at the end of the day and that you have to be adaptable to situations that arise...its all part of the adventure!

 

Speak to you soon folks!

 

So where are we going...?

For those who are easily confused here is a simple diagram showing the Momentum Team and where they are actually going!

 



I'm going on a Latin American adventure!

The European job shadowing and youth projects are complete and it's now time to take the project into its closing stages.

This means travelling out to Paraguay and Uruguay to represent Momentum and the project over seas. 

I (Amy) will be taking place on a ten day job shadowing programme in Paraguay. Il  be posting about all the different activities I'm undertaking as well as the experiences I am having. I'm sure there will be some videos and photos going up too. 

Ruth (a volunteer for Momentum) will undergo a ten day job shadowing programme with an organisation in Uruguay. Before we both meet up to take part in a youth seminar. 

Looking forward to the experience if not a little apprehensive about what may come.

All packed up and weighted down. For now I will be spending the next 24 hours travelling so hope I can sleep.  

Talk to you all soon

Hola!!

Hi everyone!

I'm Ruth and I will be volunteering with Momentum World out in Uruguay for the next few weeks.

I will be job shadowing youth workers out there while representing Momentum and promoting the projects they are involved in, specifically 2020 education.

This is my first independent international project and I am very excited as well as a little nervous. I know this experience will be fantastic for my personal development and I hope to gain many skills while I am out there.

Ciao for now

Ruth :)