Testimony from a volunteer - Marten Sims

Anyway I have been in Quito for just over three weeks now, learning Spanish (es mucho major ahora, atras, ha ha ha: super mal, pero yo abla con toda chaufers adentro taxis’, supermarcados y la calle, tambien, yo abla un poquito con mi nuevo amigos de Equipo Verde y ellos casa: ‘Cultura Commun’ en Guapulo – es una pobre, pero muy bonita logal en del este Quito – es una muy bein casa! Enscribir en Español es mucho mas dificil que ablar!!!), hanging out with the people mentioned above, but to name them (in case they read this and think I wasn’t joking yesterday night about just mentioning their country origin). Firstly I have to thank Mia and Gretchen for allowing me to join the Equipo Verde team for three weeks, we have had a massive amount of fun, playing games, painting masks, making the murial. These two people are very special, starting the project from scratch themselves inspite of several problems, but they did it because they just couldn’t find a volunteering project that was either either managed to their liking, or free. It reminds me of the classic phrase that people say when they are watching some world issues on television: “What can I do?” Well, you can start by getting up from the sofa for starters, finding a project that fixes what you just saw (whether it be local or elsewhere), committing to it and doing it. Mia and Gretchen just came out here and did it, and they are joined by a team of great volunteers, helpers, friends and often different new-commers each week (like myself), volunteers who come along for one or two sessions to not only give up some of their own time for people who need it, but also to visit an area of town that contrasts quit starkly with the central areas of Quito that are more developed, not in danger of mudslides during torrential weather (which you can see happen during one of the days we were mask-painting). It makes me wonder more and more about my own possibilities for starting something, using my skills, perhaps as a designer, perhaps as something else.