ABEI project in Quito, Ecuador (with Occupation Therapy involvement)

Within the project I worked in the kindergarden (12 children with special needs aged 2 to 5) & in the OT rooms linked to the project. I was involved in assisting with the children's needs & in activities to further their development e.g. sensory integration, hand-eye coordination activities, facilitating normal movement development, encouraging language development & communication. Within the OT practice the OT often saw multiple children at a time & enaged them in multiple typical OT activities. As someone currently studying OT I assisted the children in these activities & sometimes conducted the intervention sessions independently. I had limited to no Spanish before lessons on arrival but managed to communicate with the children & their level pf Spanish. A highlight of the experience of volunteering was also staying with a host family. This allowed me to be immersed in the culture & was really insightful & fun. Having other volunteers I'm with the same host family was also good as it caused many interesing conversations & so a group of us could explore Ecuador together. Overall I would highly recommend the project or volunteering in general! It was an incredible month & was amazing to be involved in such a good cause.