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BY JOAN KIM

In print | Published February 7, 2008

While many students on campus often search out NGOs for summer internship and employment opportunities, Swarthmore alumnus Katie Chamblee ‘07 went one step further and started The Village Education Project, which continues to maintain an active presence on campus through the efforts of both Chamblee and Swarthmore’s Village Education Project Team.

VEP is a non-profit organization that funds the education of children from rural villages who are not able to afford an education themselves. It also provides students from Swarthmore and other universities with the opportunity to spend the summer in rural villages surrounding Otavalo, Ecuador, where they help prepare sponsored students for high school by teaching classes in Math, English or Computer Literacy.

Chamblee initially volunteered through a different program, which inspired her to take on the challenge of helping students fund their education. “I realized the students would not be able to continue in school because they could not afford it,” Chamblee said. VEP, on the other hand, supports “something concrete.”

“It’s only $200 a year for full tuition for one student for one year,” PR director Jake Ban ‘10 said. This tuition covers books, uniforms and other supplies, so the students have a much-needed free ride to attend school. "The students come from subsistence farming cultures and don’t usually have the opportunity to go to school," Ban said. By educating the younger generation, VEP hopes to improve the prospects of their entire community. Currently, VEP sponsors and teaches rural students in four villages surrounding Otovalo: La Joya, Mojandita, San Juan de Capilla and Chuchuqui.

VEP Team member Anna Phillips ’10 went over winter break to Otavalo with Chamblee to visit the schools and teachers and to evaluate what needed to be done in order to help complete administrative tasks. Phillips, who had never been to South America and who had only taken one year of high school Spanish, said, “My Spanish was not very good, but they really welcomed me in. They would speak slowly without being condescending.”

Chamblee and Phillips met with a school principal and a tutor hired by the organization to talk about the needs of the curriculum. The entire discussion was in Spanish and although Phillips said she “was not the most articulate,” she was able to contribute her opinion and give feedback.

Phillips is currently working on developing the curriculum for the summer school program with the help of the department chair of Educational Studies Lisa Smulyan. All of this additional work is worth it for Phillips because “this is what I love to do.”

VEP volunteers Monica Cody ’10 and Taylor Rhodes ’10 went to Otavalo this past summer for two weeks. Rhodes explained, “I taught computers to the students. There were three laptops for ten kids so they shared … I would teach them basic computer skills,” an essential resource because the children did not have computers at home. Cody, who taught English, emphasized the eagerness of the students she taught: “I loved my time down there, especially the kids that we taught … The kids were happy all the time.”

Cody and Rhodes also donated sports equipment from the Swarthmore soccer team to the schoolchildren. “The soccer team was asked to bring sports equipment, Frisbees, balls, and jump ropes, to a sports league that was like a YMCA,” Cody said. “The soccer team was looking to set up a relationship with an organization on campus,” Rhodes said. The Swarthmore soccer team ended up fundraising throughout the school year, and several teammates visited Ecuador to volunteer. “They were really appreciative,” added Rhodes, referring to the donated equipment.

The program volunteers also spent time out of the classroom, often venturing to markets “with booths selling goods to mainly tourists,” Phillips said. Volunteers took advantage of free hours to travel to the nearby cloud forest, visit the rain-forest and even learn salsa dancing.

“On the last day, we had a field trip to the lakes an hour and a half away. We got into a truck with 40 other small kids and stood up for the whole ride. The parents were there and made us lunch and gave us jackets they had made. It was so sad to say good bye to them,” Cody said, adding that the experience was made especially memorable because “I also tried guinea pig for the first time.”

Those interested can sign up on the VEP website if they are interested in volunteering for the program. According to Ban, volunteers can sign up to teach students for two to eleven weeks. No knowledge of teaching or Spanish is required.

Once accepted, volunteers will receive information on the political, cultural and historical background for the location they will be working in so that they can be informed about the issues in that area. Volunteers pay a program fee that goes directly towards paying the high school tuition for the students in the villages as well as a housing fee.

This year, the VEP team will create a set curriculum for the volunteers. “This is a unique opportunity. We’ve only been in operation for two years and we make an effort to listen to the volunteers,” Chamblee said.

In May, volunteers will receive materials on the curriculum. “The volunteers will be exhaustively prepared with the specific curriculum,” Chamblee said.

Chamblee added that, although the constant change in volunteers could be seen initially as a weakness, it is also a strength because each volunteer brings his of her area of expertise. For example, every Friday, the volunteers have a free day to teach what they are particularly good at, whether it be art, music or theater.

For those concerned about volunteering in rural communities because of how different the villages are from their usual environments, all volunteers stay in a hostel owned by Gilberto Cifuentes, the VEP project manager, that offers comforts such as hot running water, private bathrooms and a television in every bedroom in the volunteer hostel.

For more information, go to http://www.villageeducation.org or contact Anna Phillips ’10.

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