Sunday, October 19, 2014

Pen Pal Program

As a PD, I had kicked around the idea of starting a pen pal program with Manna's children's English students and an elementary school in the states, but having no connections with any elementary school stateside the program never panned out. Fortunately, however, the University of Michigan Manna Chapter reached out to me this year with the same idea! The UMich Manna chapter regularly volunteers at Harm's Elementary School in Detroit so they saw an opportunity to connect the student's at Harm's with Manna students internationally. With the help of Evan Quinnell, a current Ecuador PD teaching 4th level Children's English at the Ecuador site, we made it happen! A couple of weeks ago, the 15 students of Evan's class reached out to the children of Harm's Elementary School in Detroit, Michigan and they have just received their first replies back from the students at Harm's!

Evan's 4th level English Class (always hard to get everybody looking at the same time).

A letter from Marcus in Detroit to Camila in Rumiloma

Evan's students have yet to send their replies, but surely they will be thoughtful, inquisitive and insightful letters. Here's to global unity and new friendships abroad.


Wednesday, September 24, 2014

New Manna on Campus

Hello all!  I'm Virginia, the new Chapter Coordinator for Manna.  This marks my second position with Manna, the first being my 13-month Program Director position in Ecuador that I finished up with in August!  I have been spending the last month getting to know the new chapter leaders and we have already hit the ground running with ideas and enthusiasm for this year.  What I love about these chapters is that they're all individualistic, each with their own ideas of what they want to accomplish this year as branches of a working non-profit organization.  They are all involved with their own local initiatives, volunteering in their communities with organizations that run the gamut of non-profits - community development initiatives.  They are also all in the early stages of planning a wide-array of what are all sure to be successful fundraising events in the name of Manna.  Needless to say, this is already shaping up like it will be a very successful year in the MPI chapters arena.  More to come as the year unfolds!

Monday, May 26, 2014

The End of Another Great Year


Manna Project International is proud to have five outstanding active Chapters all over the country. The mission of Manna is embodied on campus at Vanderbilt University, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, the University of Michigan, the University of Georgia, and the University of Texas.

Students on these college campuses have been dedicated to local and global service all year, and collectively have made quite an impact. Across the board, we had 171 Manna Chapter members spend their spring break volunteering in Latin America, and 9 different local initiatives ongoing throughout the country during the year. Our Manna Chapter members are dedicated and service oriented and we are so excited to see what next year has to offer.

Do you have interest in starting a Manna Chapter on your college campus? Being a part of a Chapter gives you the opportunity to connect with like-minded students to make a difference in your community and abroad in the communities where Manna serves. For more information on starting a Manna Chapter, email our US Coordinator, Taylor Brown, at chapters@mannaproject.org

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

#dayinthelife of a Program Director

Though spring semester is over, our first summer session is well under way. Our summer interns are an impressive bunch this year, bringing their energy and passion to support the Manna mission. We're equally lucky to have had extremely remarkable candidates apply to be Program Directors for this coming year. We are thrilled to continue the tradition of bringing incredibly solid teams of Program Directors together on-site.

Manna Project International was recently featured on New York University's Wasserman Center for Career Development's twitter as Taylor Gaskill, a current Program Director in Ecuador, described for us a "Day in the Life". You can see a recap of her day of live-tweeting by clicking below.



It may be summer, but we would agree with your professors when they say it's never too early to begin thinking of the future. Think you have what it takes to be a Program Director? Manna's US Coordinator, Taylor Brown, tells us about her journey to Manna, and what makes Manna what it is. Check that out below.


Sunday, April 6, 2014

Spring Break in Ecuador

Very recently, the library in Rumiloma, Ecuador celebrated it's 5th anniversary! Manna has been working in Rumiloma for five years already -- it's amazing to see how much it has grown. Vanderbilt sent a group of spring breakers to Ecuador this March, and they were hard at work to prep the library for it's 5th Anniversary Party. They painted a whole floor, repaired countless tables for English classes, and added an awesome creative flare to the English room! When they weren't hard at work, the group explored the Quito Basilica, and hiked into the Andes.
New art in the English Room!

In the heart of the Andes.

Saturday morning, final preparations were made for the big day. Even through the rain, it was a grand celebration, and the Vanderbilt group was such an integral part of the success of the 5th Anniversary Party! We could have never done it without them.

To read more about the 5th Anniversary Celebrations and for more information on the awesome on-site happenings in Ecuador, follow the Manna Ecuador Blog!

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Spring Break in Guatemala

The Manna Project Guatemala site enjoyed two groups of outstanding spring break volunteers this March from Vanderbilt University and the University of Georgia.

Vanderbilt arrived on March 1st with 10 people ready to work. The group set out to construct (and re-construct in some places) a playground for the local pre-school in Chaquijyá. They arrived to the school bearing paint, shovels, and over a dozen tires. Throughout their week-long stay, they added a teeter-totter, a tire jungle-gym, two brand new swings, and layered the entire area with grass to protect any niños who might fall while playing. The Parent Committee of the school matched our efforts by joining us every day to guide and collaborate with Manna in the construction of the playground. Vanderbilt’s spring break also coincided with Carnaval, and the group was able to experience all Guatemalan Carnaval festivities – especially the use (or overuse, some might argue) of “pica pica”, paper confetti. Jack Suiter, the student leader of the group shared his thoughts on their week-long experience with Manna Project:

My time as a leader and participant during my time in Guatemala was as rewarding as it was challenging. I was pushed to extend myself to new customs, people and places, and enjoyed each minute doing so. Our leaders did an outstanding job in showing us as much of Guatemala as they could in a single week – I connected with parents and children at a local school, and learned to shower in a lake. I would not have wanted my spring break any different, and I hope to again connect with a new group of people soon, whether that be in Guatemala or any other place in this wonderful world of ours. – Jack Suiter

Peter Kim, a Vanderbilt freshman, composed a list of something he “learned” every day while on-site in Guatemala.

Eight things I learned in Guatemala (Peter Kim)
Day 1: Transportation in Guatemala for ten people is always cramped
Day 2: Always carry tissue around. ALWAYS
Day 3: Mayan herbs can cure just about any illness 
Day 4: Kids LOVE Carnaval
Day 5: The van from day one fits 27 people
Day 6: Nothing makes you more proud than finishing a playground for preschool kids
Day 7: Coconut water is the most refreshing drink when you are dehydrated
Day 8: A last game of Catch Phrase in the airport never hurts.

The completed playground

The University of Georgia and the Parent Committee of another local school collaborated to paint an entire elementary school a beautiful shade of blue. The group also gave six sessions of English classes to the students in the school. In between painting and teaching, the group played soccer and basketball with the students of the school. For Christine Lopez, a UGA freshman, this was her second time as a community volunteer in Guatemala. She shared her thoughts on her experience with Manna Project.

After visiting Guatemala in 2011, I was very excited to revisit it this spring break. Of course, I faced some nervousness as I boarded the plane because I hadn't traveled outside of the country in several years. However, landing in Guatemala felt like reuniting with an old friend. As an Early Childhood Education major, I was very excited to work in the local school. I enjoyed teaching English to a variety of age groups and working with the kids-- it was good practice for the future! However, I have to say the highlight of my trip was when I learned more about myself. Two important realizations came out of this trip: language and nature. I was afraid that I had lost much of my spanish since coming to college, but I was reassured in the Guatemalan environment that I was still able to communicate just fine with the locals. I also realized that I enjoy hiking! I didn't think I would like it, but I ended up loving climbing at the Reserve and Volcano Pacaya. One of the highlights of the trip that I've been happy to brag about to my friends was roasting marshmallows over recently erupted lava rocks. After this trip, I look forward to the next time I can visit Latin America!  -- Christine Lopez


The Committee and the UGA group in front of the newly painted school

Manna Project and the community of Chaquiyá in Guatemala are so thankful for the hard work of both of these fantastic volunteer groups that visited us over spring break! Do you want the chance to travel to a Manna Project site during a school break? Contact springbreak@mannaproject.org for more information.  

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Worcester State University: MPIN

Each January, a team of occupational therapy students accompany Professor Jackie Brennan to the Manna Project site in Nicaragua. These Worcester State University students volunteer with a school for children with special needs, Tesoros de Dios, while also attending Manna programs while they are in Managua.

This year's group got a full picture of what Manna Project International does on site in Nicaragua. They helped kids get creative at Camp JAM, assisted the Program Directors on milk distribution day in Villa Guadalupe, and helped out at the new clinic in Cedro Galán.

 Cedro Galán Clinic

Projects from Camp JAM

Tesoros de Dios
It was fantastic to have the WSU group onsite. Each of our three Manna Project sites is getting extremely pumped to have other amazing university groups join us for a week over spring break! We're looking forward to a fabulous March, and we cannot wait to welcome the WSU occupational therapy group back again next year.