Why did you decide to volunteer with Help, Learn, Discover in Ecuador?
Iain: I decided to volunteer abroad with Help, Learn, & Discover (HLD) for a number of reasons. First of all I wanted to go to a part of the world that I had not seen before, one that was not well known and one that friends of mine had not travelled to previously. Ecuador was a place I had not heard much about, and would have had a hard time pointing it out on a map before I had been. For this reason I was interested and intrigued by a volunteer opportunity in this part of the world.
Another reason was that HLD was unlike any other program that I read into. The vast diversity in activities was very appealing to me and, as a student interested in going into the health field, the medical aspects of the trip also were very eye catching.
Describe your day to day activities as a volunteer.
Iain: A typical day within the program was dependent on the part of the trip that you were in. For the medical portion, a day would consist of waking up and eating breakfast, then doing an amazing hospital rotation for 3 hours followed by lunch. After lunch you would often have some free time and at night a seminar was given on an interesting topic in medicine. During the volunteer portion, the day would start with breakfast followed by work (house building) until lunch. After lunch we would go back to the work site for a few more hours and would also get to play with the community kids, followed by dinner and free nights. For the rest of the trip days were either free for you to do what interested you, or they were filled with amazing activities.
What made this experience unique and special?
Iain: What made this volunteer experience unique were the diversity in activities done, as well as the tour of Ecuador. Not only was I able to gain valuable experience in the medical field, along with seeing surgeries, deliveries, etc. but I was also able to see some of the most beautiful parts of Ecuador.
The country is absolutely breathtaking and some of the natural wonders present there blew me away. The volunteer activities I took part in changed my life and the experiences was the most rewarding thing I have done to date. The leaders and company owners are there with you every step of the way and are all amazing people who do everything in their power to make your trip as enjoyable and fun as possible. The most simple and effective way I can describe the program is life changing.
How has this experience impacted your future?
Iain: The experience has solidified my drive to become a worker in the health field. The medical experience gained is very valuable and will be very relevant when applying any career. The trip also has uncovered my love and desire to do more as a person. There would be nothing more enjoyable than making the trip back down to help complete another house building project for a community in need.
The experience helped me to appreciate just how much we have at home. What we take for granted here is hard to come by in other countries, yet the moral of the people in these less developed is fantastic. Seeing this in person changes your outlook on life and made me appreciate more in life.