Volunteer in Ecuador with Love Volunteers
Join Love Volunteers in Ecuador for the volunteer experience of a lifetime! Ecuador is known for the diverse wildlife and nature, especially on the Galapagos Islands. Love Volunteers works with local partner organizations to ensure that volunteers are helping the local communities where they need it the most.
Projects are located in many different settings - from the capital city Quito to the Galapagos Islands to the Amazon Rain forest and the Andes Mountains, volunteers are able to give back while exploring this beautiful and exotic country. Volunteer projects include: teaching English, animal care, working with children and the disabled, organic farm work, and more. Check out the Love Volunteers website for complete program descriptions and more!
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The daily work was kind of hard some of the days but this is something I expected since working in the nature it is hard for the environment itself. Other days the work was easier but always rewarding after finishing my day. As well, I had the chance of seeing other parts of the island where the conservation project was run several years ago and I can say that the result is rewarding.
The social environment was fantastic. Everybody said the same about the social environment. Everybody has a good time at the station, no doubt.
Furthermore the islands are a place marvelous to be visited sometime, and what a better chance than the volunteer period.
My summary is: awesome!
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I can honestly say I loved almost every minute of this experience. Everyone involved with the program was extremely helpful and kind with all of my questions, needs, and concerns, as were the staff on-site at the station on San Cristobal. Come to think of it, almost everyone I dealt with in Ecuador was helpful and kind, from hostel managers, to tour guides, to doctors that I and others (unfortunately) had to get help from. The support staff from Love Volunteers and their partner were excellent at addressing any safety concerns I had, so I never felt once that I was in any danger or put in a situation involving any extreme safety risks.
The shared accommodations at the station were rustic and rugged as advertised, so I wasn't surprised there at all. While a few others complained a little about the food, I found it to be quite good and a good way to experience some authentic Ecuadorian cooking. I think living in a much simpler way was a great character-building experience, and it was always nice to know that on weekends we could go into town to get a hot shower, some A/C, and enjoy the fantastic animal life and landscapes that the Galapagos islands have to offer. This combination of experiences made it a most unique, and most enjoyable way to spend time away from home.
The work itself was also quite rewarding. At first I thought I would be spending all day, every day cutting down invasive species, but that was far from the case. The staff at the station have a variety of activities that they vary for the volunteers, and doing so gives the volunteers a number of ways to actually contribute to the local community. This also provided a number of ways to experience the islands and see things in ways that other tourists may not get a chance to.
Socially, this experience was excellent. Everyone I met at the station (including staff were positive, generous, helpful, fun, and interesting people. I met a few people that I'm sure will become life-long contacts, if not friends. I regret that my Spanish skills weren't all that strong since it would have been nice to get to know the staff better, but enough people there spoke enough Spanish that we were always able to communicate well. My only other tiny regret was packing and bringing rubber boots: this particular station has a room full of them that other volunteers have left behind, but I suppose it would be risky to assume that the station would definitely have a fitting pair.
All-in-all this was an awesome experience for me, and I would recommend it to many of my friends... or at least the ones who are willing to be tough enough to live with the very basics while at the station.
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From the half dozen or so volunteer placements offered, I chose to work at a domestic violence shelter in Quito. Once there, the shelter staff decided to have me work with the children because of my teaching experience. It was frequently difficult work, but it wasn't hard to see how valuable it was for the children and the shelter as a whole. I really formed some relationships with the kids there. It was hard to leave.
The local volunteer foundation in Ecuador also offers a lot of fun opportunities to the volunteers, e.g. salsa classes (free), weekend excursions to different cities (reasonable fee), etc.
Quito is dangerous if you don't take sensible precautions, but it's a great city. And Ecuador as a whole is a beautiful country.
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I volunteered through Love Volunteers and was so happy I came across the organization, they offer non-profit program fees and had volunteer programs in so many different fields, it was hard to pick one...I picked three while I was there. I volunteered in Quito, with elderly people, where seniors would go for free meals, companionship, for the medical clinic. I stayed with a host family while I was in Quito, who were all wonderful, I had ethnic food and really brushed up on my Spanish speaking at home and taking lessons. I also took fun free classes at the school like traditional Ecuadorian cooking, Salsa and Meringue, and played Futbol and other traditional sports and pastimes with classmates and other volunteers as well as staff. I also volunteered at an animal rescue center. It was wonderful working with all the monkeys and learning about the wildlife in their natural habitat. Lastly, I volunteered in the Galapagos at a foundation on the island of San Cristobal where there is a lot of invasive plants taking over such as mora (blackberry bushes), we would remove these with machetes and plant native species of plants that would cast shade, because mora likes to grow in sunny areas. The Galapagos Islands were amazing. I could see why Darwin was so fascinated by them and the wildlife there. It was so fun to explore on the weekends as well. It felt so wonderful to give back but to also gain so much with the experiences I had in Ecuador. I'm back in the USA now, and hoping to plan another trip really soon!
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Alumni Interviews
Meet Jim Little, Love Volunteers-Equador Alum
Jim Little (33) was born and raised in Calgary, Canada, where he graduated from the University of Calgary with degrees in Geography and Computer Science. He is currently a software developer, an active volunteer with the Calgary Public Library, and enjoys a variety of sports in his spare time.
GO: Why did you decide to volunteer abroad with Love Volunteers in Equador?
Jim: I chose to work with the Love Volunteers in Equador based on the recommendations and research of a friend with whom I was travelling. She looked into numerous organizations and chose Love Volunteers based on their reputation and the variety of unique and interesting opportunities they offer, such as the one we chose in the Galapagos Islands. We were at the station from April 24 to May 4, 2012.
GO: Describe your day to day activities as a volunteer:
Jim: The main goal of the station I was working with (Jatun Sacha on San Cristobal) is to lower the impact of invasive plant species on the island and to focus on reforestation projects. Our main tasks in this involved removing invasive species from the station and local surrounding farms, then planting native/endemic species in their place, as well as helping prepare coffee plants for distribution to local farmers at a greenhouse in the highlands. Other less-frequent but interesting tasks were mixed in as well, ranging from picking fruit in the jungle to helping the National Parks department prepare for a marathon hosted on the island.
GO: What made this volunteer abroad experience unique and special? What advice do you have for future volunteers?
Jim: For volunteers specifically interested in working with Love Volunteers on the Galapagos, I would recommend a few things to make the experience and travel more enjoyable. Definitely bring lots of insect repellent and a mosquito net hat. Also be sure to have some long-sleeved, light-colored clothing: the insects are feisty in the jungle highlands, but with these precautions one shouldn't have too many concerns. The station has a huge collection of rubber boots to borrow, so if you don't want to have to pack these on your travels you can likely find a pair to make use of. The only way to guarantee that you'll have a pair that fits comfortably is to bring your own, but if I had to do the trip again I would have just borrowed from the station and saved the room in my backpack. Otherwise my only advice is to be ready for hot, humid conditions with some hard work mixed in for a few of the days, but it's all for a good cause and an ultimately rewarding and unique experience.
GO: How has this experience impacted your future?
Jim: This was really the best trip I have ever taken for two main reasons. Firstly, the people involved were all extremely friendly, helpful, and informative. This applies to the staff with Love Volunteers as well as the staff and other volunteers at our placement on the Galapagos. If you enjoy meeting and working with good people, as well as learning a lot about the people and the islands themselves, this is definitely an opportunity I highly recommend. Secondly, the scenery and wildlife on the Galapagos islands are fascinating and beautiful. Literally every day had me saying "Wow" out loud to something I was seeing or experiencing. It's an absolutely beautiful and unique place on Earth to explore, and doing so as a volunteer offers some opportunities that you would not ordinarily get to experience as a regular tourist to the islands.
Meet Edward J Chien, Love Volunteers-Equador Alum
Edward Chien, age 22, resident of Wisconsin. Math teacher and foreign language learner. Traveled to Ecuador in June-August 2011.
GO: Why did you decide to volunteer abroad with Love Volunteers in Ecuador?
Edward: Two main things appealed to me about this particular volunteer opportunity as opposed to others: 1) It was not obscenely expensive. 2) There were more volunteer opportunities than just teaching English! I chose to work at a domestic violence shelter in Quito.
GO: Describe your day to day activities as a volunteer.
Edward: At the shelter, I spent most of my time doing activities with the children. We played games, did educational activities, went to the park a couple times, etc. It was challenging not only due to the emotional sensitivity of the children, but also the fact that the ages of the children varied widely and they were all gathered together in one smallish room. However, it was plain to see that what I was doing was valuable, which is a luxurious consolation not always to be had when doing difficult work. I can also say that I formed real friendships with the children. It was hard to leave.
GO: What was the highlight of your trip?
Edward: With the caveat that this is only *one* highlight out of many great experiences in Ecuador, one Friday morning at a bus station I happened to meet the president of an NGO focused on community development. We spoke a bit, and I learned that he was en route at that moment to a small Shuar community in the Amazon jungle. He was going to spend the weekend there discussing a possible free-range chicken project which would give the community a source of income. At the time, the community had no income whatsoever, which greatly limited the educational and other opportunities that its members had access to. This NGO president ended up inviting me to accompany him into the jungle and offer any ideas I had about how to make the project work. So, I abandoned my original travel plans, bought a new bus ticket*, and had an absolutely amazing weekend.
GO: How has this experience impacted your future?
Edward: Going to Ecuador made me aware of how remarkable travel is. When I came back to the US, my first thought was, "I'm doing this again as soon as possible." Spending time in a different culture, speaking a different language, visiting beautiful places, and meeting really cool people (including fellow travelers) are all experiences worth a lot of trouble to make them happen.
Further Info
About Love Volunteers
We are just a handful of passionate people working hard to help volunteers and local communities around the world. We don't have huge overheads - no company cars, no downtown office - we're just volunteers who thought we could do a better job. We work with local organisations wherever we can to keep administration costs to a minimum and also to return as much money and skills to the local communities where we operate. We can offer the lowest possible fees, but also ensure that you are immersed in the local culture and are actually making a difference!
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Through the great help and support of Love Volunteers, I went to Ecuador to do my volunteering service at a children daycare/rehabilitation clinic. I enjoyed my site, because I had hands-on experiences with the children and I felt that my service was needed/appreciated. Everyday, three-times a day, I helped with the feeding of the children (breakfast, snack and lunch). Some of the children need help being fed (example - spoon feeding). I also helped the teachers with teaching and helped the children play with toys and other activities. I had an worthwhile experience with my volunteering. I had an amazing time at my site and at Ecuador.
Ecuador is an amazing and fun place. I honestly felt safe and taken care of over there. The people are very friendly. There are many things that you can do over there such as shopping. My sister and I did a lot of shopping. During the weekend, I had the opportunity to make trips to other exciting places (i.e. the Equator line, Banos, the Beach, Mindo-Cloud Forest, Otavalo the indigenous market, Cotopaxi Volcano) at affordable prices.
Overall Ecuador was amazing. My experience was great due to the help of Love Volunteers. I recommend using Love Volunteers if anyone wants to volunteering, because they will make sure that wherever you go volunteer, you will be take care of.