Description

You can volunteer to make a real difference! Your work can increase the opportunities for the children of the Amazon by preparing them to face a changing world and by raising their cultural and environmental awareness. The involvement of volunteers in the English teaching and other projects can raise the global awareness of local children.

This volunteer program is focused on an indigenous community of the Amazon Rain Forest. The construction of a local school is part of the indigenous (Shuar community) struggle for collective and traditional rights, especially the rights to receive education in their native language. With funds from a private donation, the local people have been building a community school.

Local parents were able to finish the construction of a new school building in 2006. The new building has a capacity for 25 children, and it offers a greatly improved physical environment for the students. Now, it's time for the real work to begin!

Teaching English allows volunteers to explore the secrets of the Amazon culture and ecosystem, while making positive impacts on the future of indigenous children. There are many important jobs for the volunteers in the school, including teaching English, assisting the teachers with other school subjects, helping to organize social activities, and improving the physical conditions of the school (painting, building toilets, decorating classrooms, etc). Volunteers will also assist in reforestation of the school area with edible, medicinal, and ornamental plants, in the establishment of a vegetable garden for the children, and in construction of a school kitchen.

Volunteers generally work at assignments from 8 AM to about 1 PM. The rest of the day, volunteers have opportunities to explore communities, to participate in local life and culture, and to practice their Spanish. When necessary, some afternoons may be spent working at the school or in other activities as need by the teachers.

Languages

• English
• Spanish

Cost in US$:

USD 75 per week

Program Fees Include:

- airport pick up
- three meals per day
- accommodation in the community

Experience Required

no

Volunteer Types

This Program is open to

Worldwide Participants.

Application Process Involves

• Online Application plus Application Assessment

Eco Volunteer UP Foundation's Mission Statement

We are a non-profit organization which is legally recognized by the Ecuadorian Government. Volunteers with Eco Volunteer UP have the choice of many worthy programs, such as vulnerable orphanages, institutes for children with disabilities, street children and local indigenous communities. There are volunteer programs located in and around Quito, the capital of Ecuador, as well as programs located in the Cloud Forest and its communities close to Quito, the Ecuadorian Amazon, the Galapagos Islands and other key places around Ecuador. We offer volunteers real immersion in the various Ecuadorian ecosystems, and the unique opportunity for learning and sharing about Ecuadorian cultures, costumes and traditions.