Ecuador

This truly was the most amazing experience of my life. I met such beautiful children and it was so wonderful to be able to help out in any way I could to see their smile. I made such wonderful connections that I will forever hold in my heart. And I couldn't be anymore blessed with a host family I truly consider my family. I felt so comfortable, safe, and loved. Not a day would go by without a great laughter and warming hugs. I absolutely loved learning a new culture, this whole experience has changed my life, and give me a deeper understanding and perspective on life.
Be open-minded and enjoy every second because it goes by so fast! Learning new cultures are great. It is very helpful to fundraise before leaving on your trip, and then wherever you end up volunteering see what is needed and buy it for your project!
The most difficult experience was not being able to speak Spanish perfectly. I find it would be very useful to take a Spanish class that ABV offers. Luckily I speak Portuguese so it did help me out a lot. I found that at times I couldn’t express myself fully, and that was the most difficult part for me.
The coordinator was absolutely incredible. Extremely helpful with anything you needed, and had the most upbringing energy. She also checked on my daily to make sure everything was going well for me, and if there was anything she can do to help me.

The trip to Quito and volunteering at the clinic was eye opening. I am so blessed to have had the opportunity to visit a different culture and meet new people. The clinic and the children touched my heart. Seeing the everyday struggles that the special needs children face allows for true appreciation for life. The children were beautiful and lively. My host family treated me as one and I became good friends with the fellow volunteers. I travelled Ecuador and saw many beautiful sites such as the equator and the Amazon. It was a beautiful experience.
The most difficult was seeing and working with the special needs children. It is difficult to watch the struggle that they face in doing simple tasks. It really set me back and made me appreciate being able to help. The children were beautiful and fun to be around. They need much more help and guidance than other children.


When I first arrived in Quito I was completely surprised. It was my first time out of the country and I literally knew no one in Quito and my Spanish was not that great. I felt lonely for the first week or two but after I got to know the other volunteers things totally changed. We would hang out multiple times per week outside of volunteering, and we also met volunteers from other organizations. The social life in Quito was great! The volunteering was also very eye-opening. The medical center is so much different from one in the United States and it was incredible to be able to volunteer there and gain a broader view of the world.
The accomodation was great. Three meals were prepared every day so I did not have to worry about cooking. I lived in two places. The first was with a single older lady and she was a great host. The second was a family and they were one of the nicest families I have ever met! I could not have asked for better accommodations.
My favorite memory of the medical center is when two interns and I walked around the neighborhood looking for children who had not been vaccinated. If we found children without the necessary vaccinations we would do it right there in the street. From traveling, my favorite memory is going to montanita and puerto lopez with two other volunteers and an Ecuadorian. We surfed in montanita, watched the world cup final and then headed to puerto lopez to do a tour of Isla de la Plata.
There are a few things that really surprised me. First, the people here generally have less money than people from the United States, but they seem to be happier in general. Second, the people here are incredibly nice. Multiple times when I needed help, I would ask a random person and they would go completely out of their way to help me. At the health center, patient confidentiality is not very strict which was interesting. Histories were taken in the presence of other people which would never happen in the United States.
The local coordinator was fantastic! She made it very clear that if I ever needed anything, all I had to do was ask. She did everything she could to make sure that I had everything that I needed. She also made sure that I was happy in my project. For the first three weeks, I did not really enjoy my project so she let me change to the health center. When I first arrived I did not live with her, but with another lady. About halfway through the project it was just me and the host mom in the house. I asked to switch locations to be closer to the other volunteers and she happily let me move to her house. She was great!

All the experience was extremely gratifying and enjoyable. I spend a week in the highlands of Ecuador in a very small and rustic town called Sumo, where I was able to perform medical examination of 240 children in an elementary school and pick up undetected significant medical problems and canalize those children for further medical care through the Organization.

I also had the opportunity to check another 120 children in a day care preschool center and in a preschool for disabled children.

Laura and her family (husband Vicente and children Mateo and Allison) were very friendly and gracious. Laura takes very seriously her work as a local coordinator of the volunteer organization. She cares about the safety and health of her volunteers. I became very friendly with the Host Family and feel that they are part of my family.

Do it, get involved. It will be an experience that you will remember and be glad that you did it.

I spent 3 weeks in this Spanish school, and did 4 month of volunteering afterwards, also with the school. I was very satisfied with everything. The staff is competent and helpful, the location of the school is fantastic (centro historico - UNESCO heritage site) and it is very privat atmosphere.
The school is not very big, so everybody know everybody by name and you dont feel like one student of hundreds.

The Project was awesome. I worked in a home for eldery and it was such a great time. Never met so lovely people in my whole life. But the school offers different projects in several areas.

I volunteered in Ecuador Quito in the Centro de Salud from February 21st to April 14th and my time there was very rewarding. I would say it was the perfect mix of work, gaining experience and free time to see the country and have fun.
The apartment was full with volunteers, but still spacious (everyone had there own room). The meals were very good, and it was a fully modern apartment.
Ecuador is 99.9% Spanish only. Bring small denominations of US$ money. Have an open mind, plans change.


Two days before I was scheduled to leave for my trip, I had a sledding accident. The doctor at the hospital said I would be unable to travel for a few days so I had to delay all my flights. The ABV USA staff was unbelievably accommodating despite the difficult situation – they contacted my host families, arranged new rides from the airport and changed my Galapagos flights (all free of charge).
My favorite memory of this trip was visiting Isla Isabella. I only spent two days on the island. However, in this short time I had the opportunity to visit the volcanoes, see flamingos, snorkel with sharks/manta rays/sea turtles/sea horses and enjoy the island’s bizarre yet breathtaking volcanic landscape. I definitely recommend visiting the other islands. I was initially on the fence about the trip (it’s not cheap) but it is definitely worth it.
Don’t stress out about your level of Spanish proficiency. The host families are accommodating and understanding. They help you improve your Spanish without criticizing your ability.
The local ABV coordinator was extremely helpful. She helped me changed my Galapagos flights (without a change fee) and took care of me when I returned from the Galapagos with a fever.

I had a very positive experience in my volunteer trip to Ecuador. I went with my girlfriend for 2 weeks into the heart of the rainforest, where we stayed at an animal rehabilitation center, which is sort of like a camp for grown-ups. Limited electricity, no hot water, bunk beds, etc. We were working directly with a diverse range of animals (monkeys, birds, tayras, kinkajous, to name a few). EcoVolunteer UP was the 'agency' that placed us, but the actual center is called Sacha Yacu. You can look them up directly, if you want.

Ecovolunteer Up is run by a nice woman named Maria. It's a small operation, run locally by her and a few other people. I was slightly reticent to commit to an organization with limited web presence and with substantially lower costs than the competition (like 80% less), and Maria refused to tell me the name of the center, which made me more uneasy. But I'm so glad I went for it, and trusted in this place, because it was a truly amazing experience. What's more, I discovered that there were several other volunteers at the center with us, who had been placed by much more expensive agencies. If you aren't familiar (I wasn't), the way these things work is you typically do all of your communication and payment through a company like EcoVolunteer UP or ProWorldVolunteers, etc. Some charge a lot more than others, and it's unclear what exactly you get for that price. In my experience at Sacha Yacu, there was literally no difference between the experiences of the different volunteers, but some paid a lot more than others to their respective agencies. So I would heartily recommend doing a lot of research and trying to find the exact program you want and the most reasonable agency that provides access to it. Then that agency will take care of your basic transportation, etc.

Again, the location is called Sacha Yacu. I understand why Maria wouldn't tell me the name. In theory you could circumvent the agency and go straight to the center, to save a few bucks, but I wouldn't recommend it. It's nice to have a middle-man, provided they don't charge you an obscene amount. And EcoVolunteer UP was very reasonable.

A few quick details about the experience at Sacha Yacu:

The volunteers seem to range from 19-30 years old. The family that owns and operates the center is very kind hearted and fosters a relaxed, familial environment with the other volunteers. At any given time you might meet one or several members of the family. There are usually at least one or two 'long term' volunteers at the center -- people who are there for several weeks or even months, and subsequently develop some seniority there and can help run the place. The primary language that was spoken, at least in our experience was English. This was good because it bridged the gap for the various volunteers that came from all over the world. While we were there, we had about 10-12 people in the center at any given time - 9 or 10 volunteers and 2-3 members of the family. It's got a casual vibe, so there is no one there that would be called "staff." We would work about 6 hours/day, and then spend the rest of the time reading, talking, hiking, playing games, cooking, etc.

It was remarkably satisfying working closely with animals, as well as being outside all day, being active, meeting good people, and adapting to a completely new lifestyle. I lost some weight, got a nice tan, made friends, ate healthy, and disconnected from the rest of the world. I'll admit, at first I had a tough time with the fact that it's a physically challenging environment (lots of hiking, carrying, shoveling poop, etc.) and the sleeping situation isn't exactly luxurious, but the pros definitely outweigh the cons, and by the time we were done with our stay there, I wasn't ready to leave.

So now you know everything you need to! Look it up! Sacha Yacu! It's great!

This 2 week volunteer trip to Ecuador was my second with IFRE. I previously volunteered in Costa Rica.
The program in Quito, Ecuador was excellent!! My contact point in Quito was Jose Aguirre. He the Director of the Cristóbal Colon Spanish School. Him and his staff did an excellent job with not only helping me to improve my Intermediate Spanish, but also organized weekend trips and answered any questions I had about Quito or the volunteer work that I was assigned to.
If you want to learn or improve Spanish as well as volunteer in meaningful work, I would highly recommend coming to Quito, Ecuador with IFRE and studying with Cristóbal Colon Spanish School !!

I would recommend Cadip’s month-long experience in Ecuador that combines a preservation program in the Andes with English teaching in communities. I thought the program had a nice way of introducing us to both the mountainous and the coastal regions of the country, and since it took place in two different locations and was four weeks long, I learned a lot about Ecuador. This is a phenomenal way to get an insider look of a place and practice Spanish! It was definitely different than going somewhere as a tourist or as a vacationer, but I think anyone who wants to truly learn something about the way of life in a place should travel this way. The relationships I formed with volunteers and local people will be with me forever! I really want to go back. I have so many stories to tell, and I think my friends are getting a little tired of me telling them about neat animals, being around the Andes, the people in Ecuador, the delicious food, the traditions… Going to Ecuador like this will really keep you thinking back and dreaming of going travelling for awhile!