Live from Ecuador, two Ca’ Foscari graduates tell us about their period abroad: Sarah Berno, known as Mashi Sarita in the school of Yachay Wasi and Marica Tarallo, known as Tia Mari at the Center of Integral Education Paola di Rosa.
Sarah, 28 years old, from Riese Pio X, graduated at Ca’ Foscari in Economics and Management of Arts and Cultural Activities. Marica comes from Lecce and enroled in the Master’s programme in immigration and graduated from the Master’s Degree in Work, Social Citizenship, Interculturality. Now they aim at leaving a concrete mark in the communities that welcomed them in Ecuador, including fundraising for education projects.
What were your experience after graduating?
S: I spent a transitional period in which I kept thinking: what do I do now? I decided to suspend momentarily my studies, travel and improve my knowledge of English. I participated to several European exchange on various topics (poverty, theater, music…) and then moved to Australia where I understood that what interested me in the arts was social ties that are created, dynamics between people, creativity as a kind of knowledge. I enroled in an art-therapy course in Barcelona and started working in the education field. And then… I have applied for the civil service and found myself in Quito teaching in an indigena school.
M: During and after my studies I taught Italian to foreigners as well as socio-educational activities with young foreigners, promoting interculturality and social animation with associations located in the Veneto region. Furthermore I did an internship of European projecting at Ca’ Foscari. Currently I am finishing my national Civil Service (SCN) in Ecuador in the NGO Engim Internazionale.
Tell us more about your experience in Ecuador.
S: A year ago I was psychologically preparing myself for moving to Quito to work in a school. I have discovered a new me, through all the emotions and adventures I have faced coming here. Yachay Wasi, where I arrived, us a small school directed by Mashi Laurita and Mashi Fernando, members of the indigena community who teach to respect the kichwa culture, their ancestral knowledge, rituals linked to pachamama, the value of traditions. This year I was the mashi of a small class of kids between 7 and 8 years old. I had to teach them all the courses, such as Spanish, sciences, mathematics, kichwa. Here I am working with these great kids, teaching them the beauty of knowledge and studying, but most of all respect the Earth and small things in life to be shared. Working in the Yachay Wasi has been fantastic as I have been able to discover the kichwa world, and participate to rituals, listen to legends, see how living beings interact with each others - mountains, butterflies, waterfalls, birds - all spirits of life and death and so many other things I could not sum up.
M: I arrived in Quito about ten months ago, and it seems both like a minute ago and years. I work as an educator in a support center in the Southern suburbs of the city. In a way my trip here begun four years ago at Ca’ Foscari thanks to the enthusiastic stories of fellow students of the Master’s on Immigration who had just come back from Ecuador. Then during my Master’s Degree discovering popular and libertarian education, theater of the oppressed… It’s funny how many of these experience, readings, meetings in my years at Ca’ Foscari seemed to bring me to Southern America and its social and political innovations. Now here I am: educator, animator, sometimes “aunt” at the Center for educational support Paola di Rosa (Ceipar), with kids and teenagers from 4 to 17 years old, with my colleagues. These first ten months flew away, amongst work, trips, kids, games, homeworks. The homeless and food distribution, Easter processions and Summer centers. Horns and music. Amazonian mud, sand from the coast, the colorful and polluted Quino, the green surrounding hills, the Andes.
Which is the activity you were involved in you are the most proud of?
S: At times the relationship you build with a child, a talk, a pambamesa - eating and drinking together - a class that went well, sharing touching moments with the whole school, when you understand that something important is happening. Anyhow I was very proud of visiting several kids’ houses this Summer to help them improve their school level, sharing breakfast, playing with their dog, stretching in the sun and discovering their often difficult daily lives.
M: There are many small and great satisfactions, but our biggest project was to enable Ceipar and the surrounding territory to dialogue with all the great energies it can express. We focused on field trips and helped creating ties with local collaborations to leave a durable trace. So we have launched a fundraising to support the expenditures of the Ceipar, in particular those related to educational material, food and extraordinary maintenance of the Center after the heavy rains of last winter. We aimed at 2.100 EUR but after the first days and the gifts from friends and family we only got 70% of our goal. Whoever may want to support our ambitious and important project can find the information in the link https://www.leetchi.com/c/solidaridad-de-ceipar-ecuador. You can donate until September 15th!
Would you have any advice for anyone who would like to do the same after graduation?
S: Go for it, travel, discover, it is the best way to learn everything and even more! We are so lucky to enjoy such experiences and I can only invite you to live the world and cherish the precious opportunities of experiences abroad such as inter European exchanges, European Voluntary Service, or Civil Service. These initiatives are promoted by many NGOs and you can get information at the Youth Centers or online. I certainly would suggest to do it only if one is ready and receptive to fully live the experience.
M: Through yourself! Keep track of the calls for applications on the official website of the civil service and on the NGO websites. If you are not ready yet you can explore the possibility reading about our experiences and those of those who lived this incredible experience in the past! You can find them on the NGOs’ website or on the website of Antenne di Pace or looking for civil service abroad on Youtube.
What are your projects for your future?
S: Live fully my last period in Ecuador, go back home and hug all my dear ones and eat cheese, pizza, tramezzini, drink spritz and go back, travel a little bit in South America. Afterwards I think that I will go back to Barcelona, a city that remained in my heart, where I would like to look for a job in the education field. I will bring this year in civic service, the teaching of children, of the Earth, of mashi, of volunteers, of new friendships, of everything that made this experience a life time opportunity.
M: First of all I have the state exam to become a social worker. I want to keep on teaching Italian to foreigners and promoting encounters between cultures as a personal passion and a duty. Soon I would like to picture myself in Venice, a city that in just a few years felt like home and where it would feel natural to set my roots… In other words I feel ready to leave and come back many times again! I would like to keep a strong bond with South America, with more exchanges and knowledge, readings and friendships growing from these last months. Finally I will never forget the privilege I had to live and travel for a whole year in another continent and I will cherish the joy and responsibility of sharing it with others.
