Market Children Program With UBECI in Quito,Ecuador

UBECI is an amazing organization to volunteer with. The program is well structured with concrete goals. After working with the program for 2 months, I can say I really feel like I am making an impact on the children´s life here. I was orginally only going to stay one month with the program but after 3 weeks I decided I wanted to stay longer. I love the program, my wonderful host family and traveling in Ecuador. Everybody is so welcoming and for no matter how long or short you stay(or your level of Spanish) you will feel at home. Our typical day begins in the office with a short meeting on the goals for the week. We then travel by bus to one of the 4 markets we work at. Once arriving we set up tents and gather children from the market. During the first hour of our time with the children we play with them, read books and most importantly give them an opportunity to be kids! After we begin teaching the children various concepts including numbers, shapes and opposites. We then take a break in the afternoon for lunch and work again from 2-4:30. We work Tuesdays-Friday and thus you have plenty of free time to travel during the weekends as well. The children range from the ages of 1-14. So there is certaintly the opportunity to work with the age group you prefer. I usually work with the children from the ages of 4-6 and I really enjoy it. The kids are so full of life and want to get to know you as well. This program and the children in the markets have taught me so much about life and I have gained so much from this experience. I can not recommend this program enough. Ecuador is a unique country to visit and you can make a real difference here. -Lisa Zychowski