Program Reviews

This month has been incredible! Every activity that we did was extremly well organized, educational and fun. The welcome and goodbye celebrations were one of my favorate parts because it was great to see how much the community valued what we were doing. I also really enjoyed the horse back riding in cotopaxi as well as all the hikes. Honestly its dificult to pin point the highlights of the trip because every moment has been amazing. The friendships we formed will last a life time and I will never forget how important it is do your part to help the people around you. I am truly greatful to have been able to come on this fantastic adventure and im so thankful to Juan and Jose for making it unforgetable.

The program offered was an amazing experience. I did a lot of things that I thought I'd never have the courage to do. Thank you ecuaexperience!

Ecuaexperience is the best way for students to travel around South America, get hands-on experience in hospitals and truly make a difference in the lives of the people in the community who recieve the homes. Juan and Jose completely blow you away with all of their insight, connections, and dedication to ensuring you have the best experience possible. It is amazing how much they are able to fit into one day. We would travel from city to jungle,be greeted by monkeys on the shore, tube down a river to arrive to our hotel in the jungle, spend hours playing with the kids of the community after a hard day´s work and the list could continue forever. For me, the life-changing part of the trip came when we volunteered in the community. Jose took us to see the houses of the families that would be recieving the houses that we were building and I was blown away. It is one thing to watch the YouTube videos of the previous trips and one thing to actually be here and SEE for yourself. All I can say is that all of the hours that we spent building the foundations of the homes was the best time I have ever spent. At our goodbye dinner after our week of volunteering we walked through an aisle with people from the community on each side who looked at us as if we are heroes and wanted nothing but to shake our hands and thank us for our help. When you are at the building site and you feel exhausted from the few hours you put in a day and all around you the people of the community are working alongside you with no complaints it seems as if the work you are putting in is insignificant. But you have no idea how much of a difference you will make in HLD. You are not only building homes, but you are building futures. You are providing the opportunity for the children of the community to go to school and recieve an education, you are reducing a two and a half hour walk up a mountain from Pujili to the family´s homes to a half an hour walk on flat ground. There are so many volunteer programs offered all over the world, but there is only one that will push you beyond your limits in making a difference. Ecuaexperience is this program. You will travel all over Ecuador and be amazed by the happiness and beauty that surrounds you everyday, build futures in the community and learn so much about the health care system and needs of patients in the hospital. But most importantly, you will become a family with all of the members of your group and a better person as you realize your role in making a difference - in your community and the global community. As Jose always told us your most valuable asset is your time and you must determine how you spend it. I can assure you doing an Ecuaexperience program will be the best way you could ever spend your time!

Ecuaexperience is a great, very unique way to visit Ecuador. The trip involves visiting almost every geographic region of Ecuador, doing medical rotations during which you learn many things, and volunteering in a community that appreciates your help more than you can imagine. I would most definitely recommend going on this trip!

Juan and Jose gave clear instructions for what was to come the following days and it was always exciting to hear what was in store for us. Each day was packed with activities such as med rotations, hikes, waterfall repelling, beach time, volunteering in a community (which includes playing with the kids) and always great food! It amazed me that one month could be so productive, eye opening and fulfilling. It definitely changed my life in a positive way!

Every day there were activities on this trip that seemed like something out of a movie. From the galloping horses around a volcano, to tubing down the Amazon river and rappelling down waterfalls, each day was one to remember. I found myself getting to the hotel every night reminiscing on the next incredible experience we had had that day, which allowed the group to become so close.

The medical rotations were a major reason I signed up for the trip. The tutors were fun to hang out with, and I learned more in that week than I ever have in that time. Although I was able to scrub in on surgeries and was able to see things I never would have been able to in Canada, the volunteer experience was the most rewarding. Although I had done something similar in high school with Free The Children, the contact with the locals was unparalleled. We finished the week with a soccer match, and a farewell dinner that was very emotional. It was a truly humbling experience to know we had made a difference in these people's lives.

All in all HLD was the trip of a lifetime. Juan, José, and the leaders made sure everyone was taken care of and happy at all times. My time in Ecuador I have made lifelong friends and have had the best month of my life.

HLD has been an absolute blast. I enjoyed every part of it, whether it was watching medical surgeries only a foot away or repelling down waterfalls in the Amazon rainforest! Each aspect of this trip has an outstanding amount of wonderful things to be offered. I learned more than I ever imagined I would throughout the medical rotations and got really close with the tutors that taught us. For myself, nothing will top building the homes for the families of Pujili. We all worked very diligentl and every second of it was worth it. It was amazing to see the level of gratitude each and every one of them had for us, especially the kids. Getting to see how the families used to live and then helping construct a better future for them was truly humbling and I am very grateful for being apart of such an experience. I am very thankful for the friends I met the first day and even more thankful for the family that we have become. The HLD Ecuaexperience is a trip of a lifetime and has impacted my life greatly. I highly recommend HLD to all that want to experience what the medical field is like, to make a difference in many families lives or even if you just want to see what the beautiful country of Ecuador has to offer, you will have a blast.

Literally words can not explain the experience I have had with HLD. I have made some lifetime friends as well as learned a lot about myself. With the help of the med rotations as well as the mentors I now know without a doubt that I want to be a doctor, which is something no other trip can offer. Sitting here at the end of my trip writing this, and trying to think back to all the thing I have done since landing in Quito blows me away. Each day is jammed back full activities whether it is watching open heart surgery, rappelling down waterfalls, playing beach volleyball in Canoa, shopping in the markets, or hiking through the amazon rain forest. To anyone reading this review and thinking whether it is worth it, I can personally guarantee the trip is worth every penny.

HLD was an incredible experience for me. I learned an unbelievable amount during the medical rotations, and had an amazing time meeting lifelong friends. Yet for me, I think the volunteer aspect of the trip is what stood out the most. It was quite life changing to see how genuine the people of the Pujili village are, and how happy and grateful they are for the homes we helped build. It was extremely touching to have that interaction with the community. One difficulty I experienced was getting quite sick and having a hospital visit, and while that was difficult to experience and miss out on events, I definitely learned a bit about my self and strengths I have, as well as encountered the kindess of the staff during my recovery in Quito which I am very grateful for. I absolutely will recommend this trip to as many people as I can, as I believe it is an extremely valuable trip and have become very passionate about the HLD program.

HLD provided a trip like none other. The food, accommodation, and activities were all fantastic. What makes this program extra special is the volunteer experience and the friends I made. The whole group became like a family away from home.

Working alongside students like myself and the local families who would eventually receive the homes, made the volunteer work very fun and much more meaningful. Through this experience, I learned to appreciate all that I have and the opportunities I will be given for the mere sake of living in a incredibly blessed country such as Canada. I will never forget the overwhelming sense of joy and gratitude I felt by helping these lovely families and I thank HLD for creating such an amazing connection between us.