About Manna Project International
Manna Project International (MPI), a US-based nonprofit organization operating health, education, and economic empowerment programs in Ecuador, is looking for co-op students as Program Coordinators (PCs) and interns to strengthen our on-site team in rural, Amazonian Ecuador to create sustainable grassroots programming that addresses the challenges and needs in the community. Program Coordinators generally serve for 3-6 months and interns for 5-10 weeks. Since 2004, Manna Project International has fostered communities of talented young leaders to become the next generation of social change agents by engaging in collaborative, on-the-ground service with international communities in need. MPI focuses on building cross-cultural relationships with local residents, partner organizations, community leaders while creating and implementing small, start-up community programs and develops our short-term and long-term volunteers and Program Directors through challenging field work, active skills building, and hands-on leadership opportunities over the course of their service. For more background on MPI, please visit our website,
www.mannaproject.org.
Overview of the Internship
This internship was created to support community-led initiatives whilst creating a once in a lifetime opportunity to get hands-on experience and mentoring in your future career track. During your internship, you will experience life and work alongside other young leaders from around the world as well as our large network of Kichwa community members all while being surrounded by one of the world's most amazing rainforests, complete with biodiversity, flora, fauna, and fantastic views. You will have the flexibility to support new programs and conduct personal research where the community's vision intersects with your own education, passions and interests. During the week, you will work in local public health clinic, in the local school system, facilitating classes through the local government, and in the municipal offices of Tena. By the time you'll leave, you'll have created a community in Ecuador and internationally and have a much stronger sense of who you are and what drives you.
What a WASH Internship Might Look Like
Interns and Program Coordinators will support various tasks related to implementing improved access to water and education on water access, including:
- Conduct research: Gather information on existing water distribution systems, water quality standards, and relevant government regulations.
- Meet with community leaders and governmental officials: Engage with local community leaders and regional government representatives to understand their perspectives, needs, and priorities regarding water supply and treatment.
- Conduct studies and interviews: Perform field studies and interviews with community members to assess water usage patterns, sanitation practices, and environmental concerns.
- Establish administrative entities: Aid in the search for candidates and establishment of administrative entities responsible for managing and maintaining each water system.
- Provide training: Assist in the development and delivery of training programs for community surrounding water best practices.
- Support other programming, including English education in public schools, to build relationships and support the overall team.
Projects You Might Be Supporting
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Project: WASH
The program
aims at providing safe and sufficient water to households in the 24 communities of the Parroquia de Talag. All communities are already served by water distribution systems, but the systems are old and don’t suffice for the public demand. In addition insufficient treatment is done and water quality minimum standards are not reached. The program aims at supporting the local government in the development of better water treatment systems, the development of adequately sized distribution systems, the legalization of each system’s water spring and the land surrounding it (protection of the watershed), the creation and legalization of administrative entities for each water system, the training of technicians responsible for the maintenance of the system and the training for water system users on topics such as water usage, sanitation, hygiene and environmental protection.
Objectives
Safe water is crucial for many aspects of life: health, sanitation, but also nutrition, economic development and potentially gender equality. By having access to a safe reliable source of water local community members would be facilitated in becoming social change agents, having the chance to better empower themselves and international communities they collaborate with. It’s crucial for humanity to be able to listen to more marginalized communities that rarely have the privilege to make their voices heard having their basic needs not met.
Identified Needs of the Community
The communities in the Parroquia de Talag lack access to clean water, which exposes people to preventable health risks and slows down the potential development of their communities.
Education + Youth Development
Children are the future. At MPI, we put a lot of focus on making sure that our youngest community members are given the tools to grow up and be social changemakers. This means that we expect all of our interns to work in youth-dedicated programming including English teaching, health and wellness workshops, WASH workshops, sustainability workshops, computer lab and tutoring hours, youth mentoring, and arts and sports classes. The amount of hours that an intern spends on these tasks per week will depend on the interest of the intern and the onsite needs.
Housing + Food + Culture
All interns will live in a shared house with other interns and fellows about a ten minute walk from Shandia. It has 4 generously sized bedrooms that generally house 2-3 interns at a time. There are also 2.5 bathrooms in the house, a rooftop terrace that offers panoramic views of the Amazon Rainforest, a fully equipped kitchen to cook, running water, electricity, and wifi. The house is situated above a local shop where interns are able to purchase any emergency items , like soap or shampoo packets, or about 30 minutes from the larger city of Tena where they will get groceries and can buy toiletries and supplies. Interns will have access to bicycles as well as the bus line to Tena and Shandia is located right in front of the house for easy access.
All interns have the option of doing a short-term homestay in a home in the community of Shandia as well for 1-2 weeks. These are generally organized by the intern with the help of Manna staff.
Most interns will prepare breakfast and lunch on their own from food available in the Manna house. Interns will generally cook dinner together. One day a week, the entire team will get together and eat at the ecolodge as an informal check-in and a way to enjoy the delicious, local Kichwa food. MPI provides every intern with a weekly food allowance. A portion of that allowance goes towards shared resources, like grains, vegetables, and beans. The rest is for the individual to use on personal food. Some people use it to buy food from local restaurants or food stands and others will use it on personal items from the grocery store like ice cream or cheese. We are able to accommodate all dietary recommendations, but recommend that interns mention to the Country Director as early as possible if they need any special accommodations (for example separate cookware) so that we can make sure that they are comfortable and healthy from day 1.
We are conveniently located in an area that is ripe for exploration. If you are interested in self exploration, we are about 3 km from Pimpilala Butterfly Sanctuary, La Laguna Azul, and many different trailheads for hikes in the Amazon. We have relationships with many local guides in Shandia who love to go out for hikes, invite interns to check out their chakras (family's farm fields), or who organize chocolate classes. We are also a 30 minute bus ride from Tena, where there is live music, cultural events, musical festivals, restaurants, and much more.
