EcuaExperience: Pre-Medical and Volunteer Programs

I signed up for HLD about a month and a half before I left so it was really last minute but based on the reviews it looked like an awesome program and I wasn't disappointed!
My program began with medical rotations followed by a week of traveling, a week of volunteering and then a final week of medical rotations. I also added on a week in the Galapagos. The schedule changes for each group that attends HLD but Juan and Jose ensure that every group has an awesome time!
I was the only one on my trip in the pre-medical program who already works as a health care professional but the "Learn" portion of the trip still benefited me as I had the chance to see the hospitals and converse with the medical student tutors about different patient conditions that I had seen in my practice.
The "Discover" portion was a whirlwind adventure. I was absolutely amazed by every city I visited! We did tons of different activities from hanging out in natural hot springs, dancing and hiking in the jungle to waterfall rappelling and extreme tubing! There is no shortage of adventure on this trip!
The "Volunteer" portion of the trip was my favorite. It began with fundraising for the materials required to build homes and ended with smiles, hugs and tears when we had to leave the community members. This experience is incredibly rewarding and I would recommend the trip based on the volunteer aspect alone. It was especially meaningful this summer as the trip came right after an earthquake destroyed the coast of Ecuador and the already rural and poverty stricken communities had their homes, even if they were simple, taken away from them. The damage done, even after most of the clean up, was evident and I'm glad I had the chance to do something small to help.
I don't want to give away anything about the additional week in Galapagos but it was amazing! If you are planning on staying 28 days you should definitely add on 7 more to visit the Galapagos!

This has been a life changing experience for myself.

At first I was apprehensive about taking part of this program - I am used to backpacking and travelling on my own and doing my own thing. Being with a bunch of other people seemed intimidating at first. But those fears quickly vanished - the week of touring was a blast and everyday topped the previous one as the 'coolest day ever'! I did the 17 day premedical program (I couldn't take more time off from work or school) and my only regret was not staying longer.

We were the first group to make it to Jama - the recent earthquake prevented the previous groups this year were not able to go. Working alongside the community was the most rewarding experience I could ever ask for. I will never forget this experience.

Life long friendships were created with Jose, Juan, and the rest of our group. We travelled with Jose for the majority of the tour and volunteer weeks, and he consistently put our wellbeing at the forefront.

Read my review, read my fellow HLDers - this experience will stick with you forever.

To start, HLD is hands down one of the best summer programs that anyone can choose to do! The combination of doing medical rotations, volunteering your time to those that need it, and touring the country has just the right amount of fun, learning, and rewarding experiences that you definitely will remember for the rest of your life. Whenever I was looking for a program to do over the summer, I wanted to do something that I could help out those less fortunate in another country, while also learning something valuable in my life. HLD fit what I was looking for perfectly! I went into the program the first day completely blind, and coming out my expectations were blown through the roof. The friends that you make and the things you do with them are something that will stay with you forever. Spending time with them for every moment of your life for 3-5 weeks allows you all to grow incredibly close with each other. I did the 28 day Pre-med with an extra week at the Galapagos. The pre-med portion was extremely organized. Everyday, I knew exactly what time and what I would be doing. In the end, I learned so much about the medical field because of all the different things we did. The tour was also very well organized. I knew where I was going and how much money I should bring with me. While some times I didn't exactly know what I was going to be doing, the surprises were well worth it! It made the whole experience even better! Finally, the volunteer portion was in my opinion the best part of the trip. After the week, seeing the joy and emotions from the community was the most rewarding aspect. You feel like you have made such a positive impact in their lives and know that they are much better off thanks to your work. I also did the extra week in the Galapagos on my trip. The week was absolutely amazing and I felt like I got a very good taste of what it is like in the islands. Now to wrap up, HLD has profoundly changed my life. It has made me further my interest in the field of medicine, and made me appreciate what I have back home. Being a 17 year old on the trip, I was welcomed as equals among people older than me. For those that aren't quite 18 yet and debating whether to go on the trip, I would still consider the trip. The trip is well suited for teenagers like me. Also for those considering about going, don't look at the cost. While the trip is by no means cheap, that factor should not be what decides if you go or not. You get way more out of the trip than the money you spend!

My trip to Ecuador with the HLD program was a life changing, educational and humbling experience. First of all I can't emphasize enough how incredible Jose and Juan are at creating a welcoming and exciting environment. By the end of my three weeks with the HLD family we really became closer than I could have imagined. The experiences shared amongst our group of friends are hard to put into words but I will try. I danced under a cabana in a thunderstorm in the middle of the Amazon rainforest. I played with the children of grateful families impacted by HLD's hard work over the years. I followed the process of a newborn baby from birth to vital signs to the neonatal unit. These are only a few of the many, many treasured memories I have from this trip. I would highly recommend this trip to anyone interested in learning more about the world, learning more about themselves, learning more about the medical field or learning more about dedication to a cause.

I’m so glad to have come across this program and these past 21 days have been an amazing experience of a lifetime for me. I really did get to experience all three components of helping, learning and discovering. My group spent a week in Jama volunteering for a local community that was affected by the earthquake in April. We were able to interact closely with them as we worked along side by side from morning to evening, as well as play soccer and other games. Even though there was an obvious language barrier, we were still able to connect and understand each other. This week in Jama gave me an opportunity to look at things from a different perspective, and taught me how to appreciate everything in life. We were also taken on a tour around Ecuador - from the markets of Otavalo to an incredible 6 hour hike in the Amazon rainforest and even camping in the bottom of a volcano crater! I got to see and do things that I never imagined were even possible, and it was an amazing experience. For all you students interested in medicine or science, this program offers pre-medicine, pre-dental, bio-medicine and physio programs where you get a chance to experience what those professions are like and do on a daily basis as you shadow doctors and surgeons. I did the pre-med program and got to shadow many surgeons’ surgeries, participate in patient rounds with doctors in the ER, learn how to draw blood from patients and stitch wounds, visit the radiology department and learn how to read scans, and so much more. If you are interested in medicine I recommend this program as it gives you an introductory to working in hospitals!! I really do recommend this program to everyone and anyone - even if you’re not interested in med school, they also do offer volunteer programs, ranging from 17 days all the way to 31 days with extra travel weeks to Machu Picchu and Galapagos! During my visit, HLD has consistently put our best interest and safety first, and I can assure you that if you do decide to travel and volunteer with HLD, you will have the most amazing, incredible experience of your life.

It is really hard to write out, in a brief summary review, all I felt, learned, experienced, saw, overcame and loved during my 21 days in Ecuador. This trip was the perfect combination of adventure and thrill seeking activities, hands on learning along side enthusiastic med students and wise physicians. And of course, I feel at the heart of the program, the volunteer week. The numb muscles from the work will leave you but the smiles and tears of joys from the community live in you forever.

I can't tell a story of my favourite memory...because each day I spent in Ecuador topped the next. From the little things like getting caught in the rain in a rainforest! making special friends in Jama and spending endless hours laughing with cool kids with whom you can relate to, Ecuaexperience will be the highlight of your youth and guide your future to bigger and better things.

My experience with HLD was a life-changing one, especially since it was my first time going to a third-world country. My first week was a medical rotation. We went into operating rooms to observe how surgeons work and emergency rooms to learn about doing clinical histories and diagnosing. At one point, the hospital had a black out. It was the first time that it has happened in the hospital. I was surprised by how the surgeons stayed calm and reacted quickly by turning on a flashlight. Numerous patients came in and I was able to see and analyse many different cases. This part of the trip reinforced my dream of becoming a doctor. I would recommend the pre-med program for everyone because it is truly inspiring. The tour part was also amazing, especially the hot spring and tubing. The volunteer part of the trip was what impacted me the most. It was so different from my expectations. Before the trip, I expected people in misery in the town destroyed by a major earthquake. Yes, the town was pretty worn down. However, people were willing to work their hardest to reconstruct the town. The people of the community, even kids, helped to build the foundations for the containers. I was tired by the work, but I got my energy from the people working as hard as they could. Even after their hard work, they always had smiles on their faces which was incredible. I felt guilty feeling sad because of small matters back at home, while the people of Jama enjoyed everything they did even after their town was destroyed. This part of the trip made me realize that I should live my life with a positive mind because I am extremely lucky to be living in a first-world country. I also realized that helping others gives me extreme happiness, which caused me to set a new life goal: to become a doctor and travel to third-world country to help less fortunate people.

By far the most amazing program you could find. There are none of its kind, as there are not other programs that can give you the most rounded experience like this one. Help - you volunteer at a site in Ecuador to help build homes for families in need. My trip was building homes for the community of Jama, although due to the earthquake before, the homes were built in Manta and sent to Jama, due to the state of Jama being unfit for us to stay & work there. Learn - You get to experience hospital rotations, and learn all about them. You get surgery, where you're actually in the OR, 3 feet away from a surgery, ER where you get to learn all about what happens in an ER, and maybe even practice taking vitals on patients, Sports Medicine, OB/Gynecology, Radiology, pretty much anything that you can think of, this program lets you experience it. Discover - You spend a week touring around the different areas of Ecuador getting to experience the Amazon rainforest, amazing waterfalls, beaches, mountains, everything that the country has to offer. It's all so much better than just reading about it, or looking at pictures that other people have taken, until you actually experience the sheer beauty of the country, you don't truly get to appreciate it.