Would you choose to live without daily running water, with sporadic electricity, and on a wage of £1 per week in a country where you don’t speak the language?  Well if I’d known how hard life can be in these conditions I might not have made the choice I did. But it was a choice that changed me forever, and although in some respects it was the hardest thing I have ever done, it was an experience that influences my thoughts and decisions that I make to this day.

For a year I assisted in running art classes for street children in Guayaquil, Ecuador. This project was set up by CMAP, who specialised in using art as a medium for street children to express themselves. CMAP also worked in conjunction with a charity called JUCONI, working with street children and their families to get them off the streets and into education.  

Guayaquil is a busy industrial city with large areas of serious deprivation and poverty. It was in these areas where JUCONI focused and where I volunteered. I visited four sectors each week to work on several long running art projects. My interaction with those running the projects and the children involved fundamentally changed the way I think and the way I look at life. Here are a few of the most crucial lessons that I learned during my time in Ecuador, which I believe anyone, anywhere, and from any walk of life can apply to their own life:

Be resourceful  - We live in a throw away society where we are encouraged to always buy the latest thing whether we need it or not, but this way of life simply isn’t an option for many people around the world. My time in Ecuador taught me to reuse the things around me, fix things, up-cycle and refurbish. This way of living is inexpensive, sustainable, and teaches us to take care of what we have. All you need is patience and vision.

Work hard and be kind – Putting in the time and effort to learn useful skills and get things done was a key part of life for those in the poor communities of Guayaquil. Paying someone to fix something just wasn’t an option, so the people learnt to do most things themselves or helped each other, swapping and sharing skills to overcome difficulties instead of throwing money at problems. Neighbourly spirit and support was the driving force behind these communities.

Don’t be wasteful – Getting the water from a well in the back yard really made me think hard about the water I was using and how much I really needed for any given task. I had to collect water from the well to flush the toilet and needed to save water from the shower in a bucket to use for cooking and washing up. There were periods every day where the water didn’t run at all. Because of this, I came to value every last drop and be careful to ensure that none went to waste.

Be grateful – Every day in Guayaquil I compared my privileged life at home to the lives of those I saw when I was working. But despite appearing to lack so much in material possessions, security, and at times even food, the children I worked with in Ecuador were some of the happiest I’d ever met. This isn’t to suggest that these children were happy because they had all they needed; they didn’t, but they were always intensely grateful for what they did have, and didn’t focus on what they didn’t have. This taught me two things: firstly, that if those with next to nothing can be grateful for the little they have, then most of us in the western world have so much to be grateful for, and secondly that happiness is built upon a mindset and outlook, not material possessions.