Hajja Salesjana July-September 2019

8 H AJJA S ALESJANA As our voluntary work experience in Peru came to an end, Shawn and I embarked on a four-day boat trip, travelling up the Amazonian River Napo to the neighbouring country of Ecuador. The journey was dream- like: four days of only river and trees, the sounds of birds chirping, and the most amazing sunsets! It was time for us to reflect and feel grateful for all the wonderful moments we had lived when volunteering in Brazil and Peru. It was also a time of wonderment about our next voluntary adventure in Ambato, Ecuador. When we reached the mainland, we went by bus to the mountainous highlands of Ecuador to make our way to Granja Don Bosco. This is a residential home for boys between 9 to 16 years, who come from troubled socio-economic backgrounds. As you can imagine, our work here was no easy feat. Most of the boys displayed challenging behaviour and there were times when, at 5am, we were already parting them from a fight. The days were also very busy: we woke up at dawn to prepare the children for school, helped to prepare breakfast, organised educational activities for children who were not enrolled in school, helped the school children with their homework, organised games, distributed dinner and settled down by Shaun and Chantelle Xuereb Epic Adventure in Ecuador