Life-Changing

Ecuaexperience is the best way for students to travel around South America, get hands-on experience in hospitals and truly make a difference in the lives of the people in the community who recieve the homes. Juan and Jose completely blow you away with all of their insight, connections, and dedication to ensuring you have the best experience possible. It is amazing how much they are able to fit into one day. We would travel from city to jungle,be greeted by monkeys on the shore, tube down a river to arrive to our hotel in the jungle, spend hours playing with the kids of the community after a hard day´s work and the list could continue forever. For me, the life-changing part of the trip came when we volunteered in the community. Jose took us to see the houses of the families that would be recieving the houses that we were building and I was blown away. It is one thing to watch the YouTube videos of the previous trips and one thing to actually be here and SEE for yourself. All I can say is that all of the hours that we spent building the foundations of the homes was the best time I have ever spent. At our goodbye dinner after our week of volunteering we walked through an aisle with people from the community on each side who looked at us as if we are heroes and wanted nothing but to shake our hands and thank us for our help. When you are at the building site and you feel exhausted from the few hours you put in a day and all around you the people of the community are working alongside you with no complaints it seems as if the work you are putting in is insignificant. But you have no idea how much of a difference you will make in HLD. You are not only building homes, but you are building futures. You are providing the opportunity for the children of the community to go to school and recieve an education, you are reducing a two and a half hour walk up a mountain from Pujili to the family´s homes to a half an hour walk on flat ground. There are so many volunteer programs offered all over the world, but there is only one that will push you beyond your limits in making a difference. Ecuaexperience is this program. You will travel all over Ecuador and be amazed by the happiness and beauty that surrounds you everyday, build futures in the community and learn so much about the health care system and needs of patients in the hospital. But most importantly, you will become a family with all of the members of your group and a better person as you realize your role in making a difference - in your community and the global community. As Jose always told us your most valuable asset is your time and you must determine how you spend it. I can assure you doing an Ecuaexperience program will be the best way you could ever spend your time!