*Be aware that other organizations have similar names to ours. Please check the correct name of our web site: www.volunteeringecuador.org. Our E-mail address is: info@volunteeringecuador.org ONE-MONTH VOLUNTEERING We offer a one-month (30-day) volunteering vacation that includes homestay with a host family, placement of your choice and 20 hours of Spanish lessons at one of South America's best Spanish schools. You volunteer only during the morning, Monday through Thursday. You have afternoons and weekends free to do as you like. After this volunteering vacation, it is up to you to organize independently tours to other South American or European countries before returning home. One Month Program dates: at any time during the year. GAP-YEAR We offer a three-month (90-day) volunteering vacation that includes homestay with a host family, placement of your choice, 20 hours of Spanish lessons at one of South America's best Spanish schools and 10 hours of conversational Spanish focused on local culture. You volunteer only during the morning, Monday through Thursday. You have afternoons and weekends free to do as you like. After this volunteering vacation, it is up to you to organize independently tours to other South American or European countries before returning home. The three-month Gap Year program is administrated separately by our overseas representatives. Please check for details through our Contact Us section. You will receive full information on this program. Our overseas agents will contact and / or visit you. Gap Year Program dates: March 5-June 5 and September5-December 5.

Volunteers work for four hours during the morning only, Monday to Thursday. Volunteers are able to choose their placement. Options include primary schools, daycares, hospitals and orphanages. Additionally, volunteers are able to work at a center for physically and mentally disabled children. The ability to speak Spanish is not necessary for any placement.

People over 15 years old (with some exceptions) can volunteer with us as long as they show they are willing to devote themselves to poor Ecuadorian children. Applicants do not need an academic background to apply.

We look for:

1. People who have an academic background in various fields. The most desired areas of expertise are English teaching, sports coaching, pre-med, physiotherapy and nursing. University graduates and students are welcomed.

2. Students looking for work experience in social work as a degree requirement. Upon the completion of the period, we issue the corresponding report and a certificate of attendance.

3. People who may not have the background mentioned above but who wish to help in the best way they can are welcomed by VE. You may choose to work in a non-teaching environment at an orphanage or nursery school.

The kinds of tasks involved with working with these children include:

• Playing with the children
• Telling stories
• Teaching good manners
• Supervising the children during breaks

You may also choose to be involved in teaching; however, all applicants must have some type of basic knowledge in their choice area. Subjects include English language, music, arts, basic computer skills, physical education and mathematics. Teachers are needed for a minimum of one month and are welcome to stay as long as desired. (Volunteers can be certified teachers or not.) Normally volunteers without any experience in teaching are assigned to a specific classroom to help local teachers. This is especially convenient considering classroom sizes, which average 30 to 40 students, aged 7 to 14 years old.

Note: We work closely with a number of schools and shelters for street children in order to improve the future of our country's youth. Our goal is to coordinate with and support organizations placing children back in school, as well as with the schools themselves.

In the educational field, one of our main goals is that our children learn English. When a child between the ages of 1 and 14 years old learns English, he/she can learn the basics more easily and without a Spanish accent. Therefore, you do not need to speak Spanish at the day care centers or in classrooms.