Ecuador: Child Care

Project Summary

Based at Quito, Ecuador, volunteers will help out at a Community Center for children of low income families, with the aim of providing these children with a high standard of living. Volunteers will work with children between the ages of two and four whose parent's are struggling to provide their children with the most basic health and nutrition resources. Domestic abuse is common amongst these families and without this center and the volunteers these children would be neglected.

International volunteer aid, care and supervision are much needed at this program. Volunteers who take part in this project become an integral part of the solution and help improve the quality of life of these children. As a volunteer, you serve as a role model for these children and have the opportunity to turn around their lives.

At a Glance

Minimum Program Length:	2 weeks
Start Date:	Every Monday
Arrival Date:	2 days prior to your Start Date (Saturday)
Minimum Age:	18 years old
Volunteer Gender:	Male and Female
Accommodation:	Your accommodation is included in the program price. Volunteers will be staying with homestay families in rural communities throughout the central valley region. Our homestays offer single or shared rooms and three meals a day provided by your host family. Volunteer Visions feels that this is the best way to become familiar with Ecuadorian culture and practice your Spanish. All homestays are located in safe areas and are within short distances of your project locations. If you prefer to have your own accommodation, we can gladly arrange other types of accommodations (apartments, hostels, hotels etc.). Please inquire about alternative accommodations in advance to get pricing.
Food:	Three meals a day are included in the program fee.
Pick-up Info:	A Volunteer Visions representative will be waiting for you at the airport in Quito and transportation will be arranged from the airport to your accommodation. The volunteer coordinator will also take you to your project location the first day so that you become familiarized with the route to your destination. The coordinator will also introduce you to the staff of the project to ensure that you are properly placed in the program.
Project Schedule:	3-6 hours/ day, Monday - Friday with a lunch break around noon Project Closed Dates and Holidays :: December 22 - January 1 (Christmas Holiday) :: May 24 (Easter) :: August 10 (Carnival) :: October 9, Novemeber 2-3, December 5-6 (Guayaquil)

Your role as a Volunteer

Volunteers will become directly involved in the lives of these children; from taking them to school, to helping them with their homework, and playing games with them.

There is also the opportunity to lead parenting classes for new parents.

Project Location

Quito has plenty of colonial architecture and modern building have been strictly regulated in the Old Town since 1978, when it as declared a UNESCO cultural heritage site. The old centre is full of white washed houses, red tiled roofs and colonial churches, with no flashing neon to disrupt the ambient of the past. The northern part of the city is the new town, containing modern offices, embassies, shopping centres and airline offices. It is very popular with tourists and almost all travel agencies can be found here. Some of the major sites include the 16th century monastery of San Francisco, a 16th century cathedral and the historic alley of La Ronda, which is the best preserved street in Quito. Other sites include El Panecillo which is a hill with fabulous views of the old town, topped with a statue of the Virgin of Quito. There are a wide variety of museums, numerous colonial churches, several spectacular plazas and open markets at the foot of El Panecillo

Suggested Skills and Interests

Since you will be communicating with children and adults who do not speak English, a basic level of Spanish is recommended. Patience is tantamount in understanding the needs of these children.

Suggested Language Level

Supplementary Spanish language classes are offered at the local language school in Quito for volunteers interested in practicing and learning Spanish. The classes are run by certified ESL teachers and the groups are typically no larger than 6 students.

Although these classes are not mandatory, we suggest that you take these classes if you have little or no background in Spanish. Classes start at $70 for 10 hours of language instruction per week with additional hours of instruction per week available for $110/15hrs per week and $140/20hrs per week. These fees are added in addition to your program fee so if you were to participate in 1 week of language courses at 10hrs/week and 3 weeks of volunteering, your total fee would be the 4 week program fee plus the fee for 1 week of Spanish classes: $675+$70 = $745. If you are interested in enrolling in the Spanish course, please state this in the comments section of the final application form.