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Guayaquil is the largest and most populated city in Ecuador, with approximately two million inhabitants. The center of Ecuador’s manufacturing and fishing industries, Guayaquil sits on the banks of the Guayas River, which flows into the Pacific Ocean, carrying in its waters much of the city’s untreated waste. In the barrios of Guayaquil and the downstream villages, the residents routinely boil their water before washing, cooking or drinking. Students at the Colegio Americana, where Philip teaches, are healthy and well fed, and he did not really comprehend the disparity between their lives and that of the residents in neighboring barrios and rural villages until he began his cycling tours of the area. As a member of the Guayaquil cycling club, Cyclistas sin Fronteras (Cyclists without Frontiers), a group he joined shortly after his arrival in Ecuador at the suggestion of friend Arturo Stacy of Hot Bike in Urdessa, he now rides 20 or 30 kilometers outside of the city every weekend. “I see poverty around me every day in the streets of the city,” said Philip, “but this rural poverty was totally different. People use donkeys to transport their food and water, and they must boil the water they get from the river for drinking and cooking.” As Philip describes the dusty dirt roads on which he and his friends cycle each weekend, he talks of dodging the chickens and goats, cattle and pigs that roam freely. And he notes that many of the tiny towns they ride through have limited plumbing and no sewage treatment. The residents rely on cisterns to catch water during the rainy season, and they have to carry that water to their often-distant homes. The towns, which depend primarily on subsistence farming, are little more than clusters of small shacks elevated on stilts to protect them from the short but extremely heavy rains that come between January and April and cause extensive flooding, particularly during El Niño years. Members of the cycling club wanted to do something for the towns where they frequently ride. “The people living in the areas where we ride are extremely poor,” said cyclist Hiroshi Ozeki. “We thought it would be a good idea to give back to these communities by preparing sacks of food for each family.” In response to the club members’ enthusiasm, some of their employers decided to contribute, too. Flint Group, a printing supplies company, donated food, money — and the use of a delivery truck to the cause. And, food products company, Confoco International, also chipped in with a donation. “We all met on a Thursday night to pack up 400 bags of dried milk, rice, tuna, lentils, and more,” said biker Rudolf Ringer. “It was a wonderful feeling. People lined up to receive the bags of food, but what really struck me was how the bottled water we distributed was met with such gratitude.” An adventurer and outdoor enthusiast, Philip joined the biking club to experience the area and to create a community of friends with whom to enjoy his new life. What he didn’t expect was how large his community of friends would soon become – nor how much satisfaction it would give him. Said a teacher from the town of Frutilla, to Philip and his fellow bikers, “It means a lot to me that you are giving back to my community.” Now the villagers of the various pueblos in the coastal plain west of Guayaquil — from Frutilla to Buenosaires, and Sacahun to the Guayas Province — call him “Amigo.” “I hope that my experience will help raise awareness for the challenges that these villagers face daily — as it’s a challenge shared by millions of poor around the world,” said Philip. “Though we often take it for granted, access to clean, fresh water is not a given.” Links: Become a Mayfly Club Member. To learn more go to: |
This holiday season was especially meaningful to Philip Dixon. A native of Chester County, Pennsylvania, Philip has spent the last six months living in Ecuador. As a teacher at a high school in the city of Guayaquil, his every day existence is starkly different from that of the impoverished villagers who live just a few kilometers away. So he and some friends decided to do something to make a difference.
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