EcuaExperience: Pre-Medical and Volunteer Programs

This was my first time traveling out of the country with my friend and it was such an amazing experience. I heard about them from a classmate back in high school. Juan and Jose are very attentive and listened to all of our concerns. Throughout the trip they provided us with ongoing support. The medical rotations were amazing and I have learned so much. Not only that, I have also made sooo many friends whom of which I still keep in touch with. Ecuador is an amazing place to travel to. Its various terrains and wildlife are so interesting to see. HLD took us to some of the most beautiful places I have ever seen in my entire life! The accommodation they provided was also great. Helping out with building houses for the local community was also an eye opening experience. It is nice to know that I made an impact by going on this trip.

I had always wanted to volunteer abroad but there were so many different programs and countries to choose from I didn't know which ones were worth it/ which were safe. I wanted to volunteer to help others but I also wanted the travelling aspect without breaking the bank. I wanted to meet new people and make new memories. That is EXACTLY what I got with HLD!

Volunteering in Pujili was an amazing experience. We built houses alongside the families who will get to live in them once they are completed. The connection that was made alongside these locals was breathtaking. For people who have so little they were easily the happiest, most grateful and welcoming people I had ever met. They gave me a new perspective on how I live my life that I took back with me once I got back to Canada. The goodbyes at the end of my trip was one of the hardest things I had to do because of the bond that formed between the volunteers and locals. But I would do it all over to see them again.

My trip was only 18 days but I felt like I saw so many amazing places while I was there. From hotsprings to waterfall rappelling to the Amazon rainforest hike and everything in between the travels took my breath away every time. Each resort was safe and comfortable plus delicious food.

Lastly, I just want to say the one thing that surprised me the most was the AMAZING friendships you create between the other volunteers and leaders of HLD. We all come from different areas of North America yet even months later many of us are still best friends. It is so easy to connect with the people you are travelling with. You go horseback riding together, sing on the bus, dance at the bar, stay up for hours in the hostel talking and listening to music, digging holes and moving bricks. These are people I will be friends with my whole life and that is thanks to this phenomenal program.

I highly recommend doing your research on HLD! I would go again in a heartbeat.
Here are two videos one of my friend's did from our trip in June! (one is of volunteer sights and the other is some travels we did). If you have any questions feel free to reach out on my Facebook (Madison Chalmers)!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxv6GG8UoIM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pftn_DKBvgs

It was an great blend of adventure, volunteering, and medical experience. Everything was well thought out for the benefit of the kids in the program. The trip goes by really fast, which is mostly due to the riveting itinerary from the start. The staff members were all really kind and engaging and made us all feel really comfortable and safe. The communities we helped were so humble and appreciative of the work we did, which made it seem super valuable. The medical rounds were stimulating and confirmed or denied many of the students desire for entering the medical world.

I loved the help, learn, and discover aspects of this program. Helping was the best experience; I really enjoyed how much interaction we got to have with the community. I learned and discovered so much not only during the medical rotations and touring but during volunteering as well. I feel that everything was very well planned out and exceeded my expectations. I have learned so much, from seeing how people make money everyday, how they live, but most importantly seeing how hard they work for what seems like almost nothing but NEVER complaining and always doing the most for others and their families has been the most humbling learning experience.

This trip was one of the most incredible things i have ever done. From the people i met to the experiences we shared and the things i learned, my experience with the HLD far exceeded my expectations. HLD offers such a unique way of experiencing the beauty of Ecuador as it allows you to gain so much more out of it than you can ever imagine.

The LEARN part of the trip, we got to spend a week in Quito shadowing doctors by visiting different departments and actually standing right there inside the operating rooms watching surgeries! To this day i still am in awe of the fact that i got to stand right next to the surgeon while he operated on a patient. It’s an experience unlike any other, especially for aspiring doctors. They were just very helpful in answering questions, the knowledge i learned from them and the experience in Med rotations has definitely given me the motivation and completely solidified my decision in pursuing a career in Medicine.

The HELP portion was definitely the most life changing, as you’re in the community building houses for the local people who cannot afford proper housing themselves. It is sometimes hard, physical work as we scrap the houses so we'd have a smooth surface to paint on but at the end of the day you finished with the most rewarding feeling that we’re actually physically making a difference in other people’s lives. To see the result of our work at the end of the day, and to know that all of our fundraiser money is going directly toward people who truly need it is amazing. We worked alongside the locals and play with the children, we quickly built strong, lasting bonds with them, making it very hard to say goodbye when we had to leave. It feels good knowing that we had a little part in helping them build a future for themselves.

The DISCOVER part of the trip, which was spread throughout the whole month, helped keep us relaxed and sane, as we traveled to some of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen and got to do some pretty exciting things. From hiking in the jungle to waterfall rappelling to surfing to tubing down a river through the Amazon, the month was packed with so many exciting things that I look back and wonder how we managed to fit all of it into only four weeks. What really made this trip for me was getting to do all these incredible things with some of the best people I’ve ever met. I come into the group not knowing anyone and left with some of the greatest friends.

If you are unsure about whether or not this is the trip for you, just take a leap of faith, it might be the best thing you did for yourself.

Help Learn and Discover was an amazing experience. I have an inexpressible gratitude for being able to go the trip. If you love traveling, experiencing new landscapes and communities, and making new friends - you can do this all with HL&D and get more out of it than you expect. Jose and Juan, alongside their team of leaders, do an incredible job of organizing every day so that students get to experience their country in the best way possible.

My favorite part was volunteering. I wish it was longer! I went for 18 days and volunteered for 4. Our group did not want to stop working when Olivia called us for lunch. We dug holes and worked inside the houses scraping, sweeping, priming, and painting. It is an eye-opening experience for everyone. The community we worked with was very inspirational. They worked very hard and made us feel welcome every minute. It felt amazing to see our team working there and actually working on the houses and how grateful the community was to have us there.

To be completely transparent, the trip is busy. Like Jose mentioned - if you want to sleep in and drink wine and eat pizza, you have chosen the wrong place to travel. But if you are thinking about going on this trip and seem to love every aspect of what HL&D offers, don't hesitate! It offers so much more to those who will appreciate every moment of it. Ecuador is a beautiful and welcoming country and the program is filled with so much fun! And being with like-minded people just amplifies the whole experience. You enter as strangers but when helping, learning, and discovering in Ecuador together, you leave as friends with such a unique bond its hard to describe!!!

"HELP, LEARN & DISCOVER", a company name that simply describes an incredible experience. I helped, learned, and discovered in the 28-day Pre-Medical Program,

"Help": Helping began even before the program began, I learnt how to fundraise on my own and as apart of a team in order to build homes for the less fortunate families in Ecuador. There was so much support from the company and it's leaders! As a group, we then were able to see exactly where and what the fundraised money went towards, and physically help build homes for the most generous and deserving families in Pujili.

"Learn": There is an endless list of things I learned on this trip. I was able to watch open surgeries and perform various medical procedures, such as stitching and taking blood! The medical experiences were indescribable. Not only did I learn medical knowledge, I learnt so much about myself and life on these 28 days. I learnt how to be okay with discomfort and change. I learnt how to see things from another perspective, and to always be grateful for where I am and I what I have.

"Discover": going into this program, I knew very little about Ecuador. I was in for a pleasant surprise, we travelled all over Ecuador, experiencing the different biodiversity and climate changes from place to place. It's an absolutely breathtaking place to be, from the great food, the great people to the great culture. There will always be a place in my heart for Ecuador and HLD. I recommend this program to EVERYONE!

If you want to live an experience of a lifetime, it's for you. This program is going to bring a lot to your life. An experience refreshing, amazing who is going to take you out of your comfort zone.
Every moment of that trip, i was surrounded by wonderful people who had and are still having an impact in my life.

Starting with our medical rotation in the 28 days pre-MED program, i met some MED school students that were leading the rotation and they taught us a lot about medicine with some class, some demonstration and some practice too by sharing their knowledge with us.

Also, we went to help the Pujili community by giving them a place to live and they welcome us like if we were part of their own family, their unconditional love for us changed my point of view about life.

There were a lot of activities organized for us everyday and each of them was different and exciting. They make me do things I would probably not do with what we called our real life because i can only think about a dream that came true when i'm thinking about this trip.

In some we learned , we helped and we discovered this amazing country. Now it's your turn to live it , tell it and share it so everybody can live this amazing experience

Thanks to all the organisation , in particular Juan and Josee