UC Davis Blum Center for Developing Economies

Andresito and I working on his liberal arts homework. -August 16, 2018 - Today was a productive day, some volunteers and I went to speak with the local university “Universidad Amazonica” to see if there was any local students that would like to volunteer with the NGO. I proposed to take this initiative as an NGO, with the purpose to create more longevity in the projects that are started by foreign volunteers. I saw that there has been great projects proposed and carried on in the past, however there was no follow up once they left the NGO, that it is when my suggestion came in and was happy to receive support on this idea. In the morning when we presented this idea to the university’s principle, she was very excited, she expressed that this iniciativa could definitely benefit the students getting some hands on learning from its own community. She told us that we could come back in the night time to talk to the students as it is a night school. We learned that most of the stud...

The twins, Andre and Salome, in our study session going over math problems. August 12, 2018 Today some of the volunteers and I were taken to the “Hogar Cristo Te Salva” Orphanage to meet the people in charge of the center. They explained to us the hardships that they have of managing the orphanage, it’s mainly due to the lack of economical support from the government. They explained to us that they had contacted the city previously in hopes of getting any type of support for these children, unfortunately the city has turned away from them because of the lack of funds. Most of the money they receive is from fundraisers that previews volunteers have made for the purpose of helping the orphanage. This was very heartbreaking to hear, specially because you would see in their eyes the disappointment they felt. This really puts into perspective how fortunate we are to have fair accessibility to funds, if needed, in special cases like these. Moreover, they explained to us their main needs lik...

Richard and I, he was one of my deaf students, helping me learn his name in ASL. August 11, 2018 Today is Sunday, a very slow day here in Riberalta. I was surprised to see that there was barely any places open, I wasn’t able to find a close by restaurant, I had to walk longer than usual. Riberalta is a very hot city, which made it harder, but it reminded me of my time that I lived in Costa Rica, it was very nice. For lunch I tried some local fish with rice, beans and plantain. In my time here so far, I think I had plantain almost everyday, because it is the accessible everywhere and easy to cook for a beginner like myself. I am missing home a little more than usual today, but getting to experience this time with myself has really helped me getting to know myself better. Not having a schedule to follow, working at my own time, has given me confidence that I am able to handle independent projects. On the other hand, I have noticed that I really need to practice cooking more often,...