EcuaExperience: Pre-Medical and Volunteer Programs

Ecuaexperience is the type of trip that you can only fully appreciate once you have participated in it. The three componente of Help, Learn and Discover were executed perfectly and everyday we had a list of activities that we would take part in.

The volunteering Help component of the trip was a very humbling experience. The community that we were able to work along side was extremely deserving and welcomed everyone with open arms. I had the privilage of being the groups treasurer which gave me the opportunity to first hand buy all the needed supplies and essential components that each house needed with our fundraised money. Every single penny was used for the houses and nothing more. The work was hard and long but regardless we all came out smiling everyday. The workers that help build the homes are actually the people receiving the homes, so they are extremely hard working and very patient with us considering the fact that most of us had no experience. We also had the oppurtunity to see the current living conditions of the family and that was extremely eye opening. These people are very deserving of everything and more and it brings me great joy to be able to take part in making in impacting their life.

The Learn portion completely surpassed my expectations. We were able to take part in 5 rotations including OR, ER, radiology, peadiactrics, sports medicine and activities such as infernal medicine, learning how to stitch, advanced CPR, and drawing blood. During the rotations we were assinged to different tutors. They extremely knowledgable in everything, great teachers and easy to get along with. We also got to interact with the patients and even speak to some of the doctors which I was not expecting at all. This portion definitely helped affirm my desire to work in the Health field and I would highly recommend it for any one considering to join it as well.

Ecuador is a beautiful country and the Discover portion did a fanstastic job at showing it to us. The scenery is breath taking anywhere you look and the color of green is endless. Each city that we got to visit had so much to offer and everyday you wish you could stay longer. The hotels we stayed at throughout the trip completely surpassed my expectations and were worth every penny. Canoa beach was my personal favorite.

Overall the trip was an amazing experience and I feel blessed having the oppurtunity to have taken part in such a great program. You come out a completely different person and I'm forever grateful for that.

I did the medical program in June for 28 days and it was the perfect amount of time with the perfect amount of experiences. The three components of volunteering, seeing the country, and participating in medical rotations were expertly organised and executed very well. During the whole trip we were constantly being looked after, but not in a smothering sense, we were still very free to explore, but I felt very safe as well. During the "discover" portion of the trip I hiked a portion of the Amazon, went tubing in the Napo river (amazing!!), enjoyed a relaxing night in the Amazon jungle, enjoyed a relaxing resort stay at Canoa beach, and saw so much wild life, culture, great sight seeing, and hit so many tourist hot spots. It was amazingly comprehensive! As for the learn portion, 3 participants were paired with a senior medical student and they taught us very neat things, gave us great resources, took us on the wards, let us interact with patient, and see incredible surgeries. I was able to watch a brain biopsy (so cool!!!), and the students and staff were so accommodating and awesome . Lastly during the volunteer portion we helped build 20 homes for families in Pujili. It was really tough work, and I am very glad I did it. It really put into perspective what I have at home made me really grateful for it all. We worked alongside the people who would be living in the homes and we all got to know each other and really bonded. The kids are so cute and playful. This was such an amazing experience. I think anyone considering a medical career and wanting to see what the world has to offer should definitely consider this program. Out of everyone in my group (we were only 12, but other months had up to 40) we were all raving about how great this experience was. So many experiences, and at the end of everything, these other participants become your best friends. It was sad to leave. In short, amazing program!

I did the Pre-med program on May 2014 and I had the best time of my life. It was such an unique experience that changed the way I viewed everything in life. I especially enjoyed the medical rotations because we got to see very cool surgeries in person and learn so much. It is something that isn't available for us undergrad students here in Canada.

The volunteer portion was also amazing. We got to work along side the Pujili community to build 21 homes for them. We got to see how they used to live in poor conditions which made me appreciate all the little things in life. They are one of the most kind and generous people that I have ever met in my life. They always had so much to give even though they had very little for themselves. We bonded very well with them during our stay in Pujili and the kids there were adorable!

I highly suggest every post-secondary student to give this program a try because I had the best time of my entire life! I highly suggest all pre-med and pre-dental students to go on this trip since there's so much you can learn and get a head start on your medical career!!

As a person skeptical about volunteer trips, I was wary of a trip that sounded as good as HLD did. When doing research, no trips came close to offering what Ecuaexperience could and I was slightly nervous. These worries, however, proved to be irrelevant when I arrived in country and had the experience of my lifetime.

I participated in the BioMed 1 program in May, choosing to do so because it combined the best of volunteering, adventure and medical rotations. During the first two weeks, we had the opportunity to explore Quito and do our medical rotations. The students were separated into smaller groups and assigned different rotations with different tutors each day. I don't think I've ever learned more in such a short amount of time as I did with those tutors. Each tutor excelled in teaching and providing us with insight into the medical field. I saw amazing procedures and had the opportunity to discuss the difficulties and rewards of working in the medical field with Juan and the other tutors. I truly appreciated how much everyone cared about our experience, and how much Juan tried to accommodate all the things we wanted to see and do in the hospital.

After my medical rotations, we travelled to Pujili to do our volunteer portion of the trip. Again, any worries I had about the authenticity of our work were eliminated once we arrived. We worked hard alongside the community and every penny we raised was put towards the construction of the houses. One of the most amazing parts of the trip was seeing the joy and appreciation that the community had towards us. There was also difficulty in seeing the original homes of the community, and the conditions in which they lived. When Juan and Jose spoke to us and discussed why we do this, and how much it means to the families to have solid houses, or to have their kids closer to school, I don't think anyone left unchanged. I genuinely believe that HLD has a huge impact not only on the lives of poor communities, but also on the students participating on the trip.

As a part of BioMed, I had the opportunity to go to the Galapagos and was so excited to visit the islands that are so thoroughly discussed in my university classes. I was floored by the activities that we got to do, from hiking, kayaking and seeing the natural wildlife of the Galapagos! The entirety of the week spent there was amazing and unforgettable.

Additionally, I did the additional week to Peru. This experience was amazing, Jose really went out of his way to make our experience as incredible as possible. As a smaller group, we got really close to one another and had so much fun! All the tours we did were really cool, specifically noting Machu Picchu, the Nazca lines, visiting ancient ruins and travelling to Lake Titicaca.

As a whole, this experience was beyond amazing. Every place we went, tour guide that we had and opportunity that we were given went far beyond expectations. While, I would have loved spending more time with each experience, I think that this trip was the best possible combination of helping, learning and discovering. Jose and Juan truly care about the experience we have and go above and beyond to improve the trip in any way for us. I cannot thank them enough for giving me this opportunity to be on the trip!

This trip completely exceeded any expectations I had and surprised me with a whole lot more then I could have imagined! My time with HLD was jam-packed with activities that allowed us to really experience what Ecuador has to offer. Everything was so well organized and we always had a great time. Jose and Juan are phenomenal. For those interested in med, the things you will learn and see during your medical rotations are unlike anything you could have in Canada during an undergraduate degree. I felt so privileged to be getting private courses by extremely knowledgeable tutors and learning hands on in the field. As for the volunteer portion of the trip, I wish I could have stayed longer. We worked hard and for long hours and it was so rewarding at the end of each day. Seeing those kids being so happy with so little, and their parents so appreciative of our help, it was an amazing experience that I will never forget. The fundraiser money really goes straight to buying supplies so it was cool to see the process and see how we made a difference in these peoples lives.

As I knew little as to what the day to day activities included I was a little unsure of what to expect upon arriving in Ecuador, however within the first hour of arriving I knew I was in for a trip of a lifetime. I am confident to say that my time spent in Ecuador will be some of my most cherished memories, and I was definitely not ready to come home after my month there went by so quickly. I would recommend this program to absolutely every student I know!

I participated in the Bio-Medical program in May of 2015. I think one of the most compelling parts about this program that really sets it aside from other organizations is the diversity of things we did on this trip, all falling under the different categories; help, learn, and discover. For the help portion, I can't begin to explain how rewarding it was to work along side the community building houses. It was hard work and challenging at times, but being able to create a bond with the community was really an eye opening experience for me. The learn portion of the trip really exceeded my expectations.The med tutors were amazing, always ready to explain procedures and answer questions. One of my favorite parts of the trip was shadowing the doctors and watching numerous surgeries! Finally, the discover portion was unlike anything I could have imagined. Highlights included waterfall repelling, horse back riding, surfing, snorkeling with sharks and sea turtles, hiking through the jungle, and tubing down the amazon river.

All of these different components made for an unforgettable month, however what really made the trip extra special were the owners, Juan and Jose. They really go above and beyond to make sure that every student feels comfortable and safe while enjoying their trip. By the end of the trip, both the leaders and the fellow students felt more like family than friends!

When I initially signed up for this program I didn't really understand what kind of amazing trip I was about to go on, and what incredible people I would meet. It started with the group meetings with other Vancouverites who were going on the trip. The fundraising we did and coordination at times was difficult, and with little fundraising experience I wasn't entirely sure what I was doing, but there was so much more gratification knowing that all the funds raised were raised by us. The leaders in Vancouver were also useful sources of information about the trip and fundraising, and helped us every step of the way.

When I landed in Ecuador, it was then that I realized I was going to experience a unique, culturally rich and beautiful country. And our tour around Ecuador really solidified this idea, from the coastal and sunny town of Canoa, to the Amazon Rainforest, to the Cotopaxi (one of the world's highest active volcanoes). But the two most rewarding portions of the trip for me was the volunteering in Pujili, and the medical rotations in Quito. During the volunteering, we worked alongside the community and formed bonds with the children, even taking them to a movie, something novel for the majority of them. The work was hard and dirty, but seeing where our fundraised money was going and what we were doing for this people, the new lives we were helping give them, made it all worth it. In the medical rotations, we toured various wards of the hospitals with medical tutors (5th and 6th year medical students in Quito) and shadowed doctors in the OR. The tutors were extremely knowledgeable about each subject and were easy and friendly to talk to. We learned a whirl wind of information, from both inside and outside rotation learning, but I feel that I came away with a much better understanding of what it means to be a doctor and what it means to work in different wards of the hospital.

All together this trip was life changing. The people I met, the friends I made, and everything I learned are things I will carry with me for the rest of my life. I am very thankful I was able to go on this trip.

This year is the second time I have joined HLD to help build homes for underprivileged families! We returned to build another 20 homes in the village of Pujili and the experience was just as rewarding as my first!!! The homes we were building were for new families and I experienced community interaction to a whole new level!! Despite a language barrier between both the students and the community, both cant help but become close to one another as we both worked extremely hard this month for the future homes of this community! Ecuaexperience is constantly evolving and I noticed many changes in regard to the destinations we visited as HLD are taking students to newer, more exotic and wonderful locations!! I would highly recommend this program anyone and everyone as you will receive the most eye opening, rich and rewarding experience of your life, for both new and past students!