Ecuador: Urban Education

Project Summary

Based at Quito, Ecuador, this volunteer project is based in an educational center for underprivileged children in Quito that serves to help these children overcome the socio-economic disadvantages that they experience. The center recognizes the lack of educational resources available to these children and offers workshops and classes to these children. These interactive workshops and classes teach them beneficial life lessons that can be used to enrich their lives.

Our volunteers help to run the workshops and classes alongside local teachers. The educational center relies upon private donations in order to maintain its operations. The financial resources of the center are severely limited, so volunteers play an important role in providing aid to the center in the form of human resource and skills training.

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:	Half day: 8am - 12pm or 1pm - 5pm Full day: 8am - 5pm (1 hour lunch break) 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

There are 6 different types of workshops that you may become involved in. Depending on your skills, interests and the needs of the center, you may participate in any of the following activities:

:: Fine Arts Workshop: Drawing, ceramics, painting and more.
:: On-Stage Expression Workshop: Theatre, juggling, dance and ballet.
:: Music Workshop: Construction of instruments using recycled materials, the development of vocal sound, sound identification, and more.
:: Media Arts Workshop: Teaching the children to use a digital camera, graphic software, photography, and more.
:: Cultural Workshop: Filed trips and excursions to museums, the cinema, art exhibits, and the theatre.
:: New Parent Workshop: Educate parents on raising their new children.

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, as well as the ability to think on your toes be resourceful and creative with your lessons.

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.