Guayaquil - July 1st

Today we left early and flew to Guayaquil which is closer to the coast and is the major shipping port for Ecuador. Our flight arrived at about 9am. Sister Annie Credidio was there with open arms (literally!) to meet us. She greeted us all with hugs and warm smiles. We piled into her car and a van that Casa Damien uses to go tour Casa Damien and Nuevo Mundo school.



The dirve to Casa Damien was short - about 10 minutes. Immediately surrounding the airport are lots of car dealerships, hotels and generally it is much more affluent looking, however, the furtr you get from the airport, the more the poverty shows through. The residential clinic she runs is located in a bad part of town so there is a gate and a security guard, complete with bullet-proof vest.

Upon arrival, we greeted the people sitting at the gate with hugs. Annie showed us into her office to leave our stuff. She then told us a little about Hansen's Disease (formerlly known as leposy - the term is no longer used because of the stigma attached to it). The disease is bactrial in nature and is not contagious. One does not contract the disease by hugging or even kissing. The Foundation was established to provide dignity to people living with this disease as they are often shunned by their families. There are about 40 patients there. Just the day before, one of the patients died, so Annie explained that folks were a little sad about that. She said that our visit would raise the spirits of the patients.

 

First we visited with a women patients. They welcomed us into their home, we sat in the living room and everyone introduced themselves to each other. One women gave a very moving speech, welcoming us to Ecuador, blessing us for the work that we are doing. The teens shared some of the things that they are enjoying about the trip. Next, they took us into their rooms, each woman had set up a little shop in their rooms with handicrafts that they had made. Everyone purchased something to support the women. One woman, Mercedes, wanted to sing a song for us - it was a beautiful song which spoke of the dignity, and liberty of Guayaquil.
 

 
Next we visited with the men. They had created beautiful hammocks which several of us bought. They were so sweet to us. One man made a speech and welcomed us to his home -he said that his home is our home. Another man talked directly to the teens and shared his wisdom with them: look towards to future, get a good education, etc. Very lovely.
 
We visited another room which housed 4 men, all over 90 years old.
 
 

Next, Annie ushered us into the art room where we had lunch. We had cookies and chips, then potato pancakes with cheese (called Llapingauchos, in Ecuador). Then we had pan de yucca, which was delicious and some little empanadas, some had meat inside, some cheese. They were great. We also had fresh, drinkable yoghurt.
 
When we finished our lunch, we took a drive through the town of Duran. It is across the river from Guayaquil and is a very poor area. There are almost no paved roads, the houses are made of cane or bamboo, and most of Annie's patients come from this area.
 

 

Following this, we visited Nuevo Mundo school. This is a school which serves two populations. Children from wealthier families who pay tuition send their children in the morning, then children of poorer families attend in the afternoon. The school is beautiful.

 

 

Next our drivers took us to the Iguana Park, downtown. They had iguana's everywhere! There were also turtles and squirells gallore. It was a wonderful park with lots of families and locals enjoying the scenery.
 
 

 
We had to cut our visit short because we had to get back to the airport. We arrived, I went to check everyone in and there was a slight problem; for some reason, the airline didn;t have a return ticket for Vivian! We had to buy one, then I will take it up with the travel agent when we return home. The flight home was totally uneventful. We got home in plenty of time for dinner, which was nice.