Mid-term (1 to 6 months) "social work" projects in Ecuador

Located in Colonial Quito, this wonderful project is set for the benefit of low income children and women who work in the streets, and children and adolescents whose parents can not give them total attention at home.

This programme helps children aged 5 to 16 years old by providing a safe place where they can eat lunch, do their homework, watch TV, play table football and take computer lessons and manual work.
Children and adolescents on an age risk are assisted by the programme staff and by volunteers; they are also assisted by a psychologist provided by the programme.

The programme also assists a group of children who could not be reintegrated in their own homes, due to problems which are difficult to be solved. The programme created a “new home”, a small but nice house located in downtown Quito, where 18 children live with a lovable woman who becomes their mother from Monday to Friday. Children must spend weekends with their parents or relatives who have the obligation to give them a family atmosphere during that period. In this way, the programme looks for a way to reintegrate children step by step with their families. Psychological help is provided for the children and their parents and sometimes for the whole family. The programme gives children all the help they need - protection, education, physical and mental health, etc.

Volunteers can work on this project for a minimum of 4 weeks from 10am to 4pm, from Monday to Friday, assisting the children with their homework in the mornings from 10 to 12, after which volunteers assist the programme, serving food to an estimated 200 children and women who work in the streets and who are benefited by this programme. After lunch, volunteers assist the children with their homework. Volunteers sometimes are requested to teach or help in Mathematics, English and some other subjects. The programme assists children to go back to school so that few of them continue working in the streets.

Volunteering is from Monday to Friday, weekends are free.

Provided at Fundación Chiriboga’s house in Quito.

Basic knowledge of Spanish language is required.

300 Euro or US$360.
Fee includes 4 weeks lodging, breakfast, lunch (at the programme), dinner and assistance in Fundación Chiriboga's house. The fee does not include any kind of transportation, bottled water, extra food and drinks, phone calls and internet.

Located in Colonial Quito, this wonderful project benefits low income children who work in the streets, and children and adolescents whose parents can not give them total attention at home.
The project helps children by providing them a safe place where they can do their homework, watch TV, play table football, and to have lunch.
Children and adolescents at an age risk are assisted by the project staff and by volunteers. They are also assisted by a psychologist provided by the project.

In this project, volunteers have the opportunity to look for the children in the streets together with the specialised staff, making their work directly in the streets, visiting the families to know why the children abandoned their homes, why the parents can not protect their children.

Volunteers are responsible to assist the children with their homework, and to make recreation activities and to visit other centres in other provinces with the children. Volunteering is from Monday to Friday, weekends are free.

This project offers placements in the following cities:Quito, Ambato, Santo Domingo de los Colorados and Esmeraldas.

Provided at Funadción Chiriboga’s house in Quito or in host families if the project is situated in one of the other locations.

Basic knowledge of Spanish language is required.

300 Euro or US$360.
Fee includes 4 weeks lodging, breakfast, lunch (at the project), dinner and assistance Fundación Chiriboga's house. The fee does not include any kind of transportation, bottled water, extra food and drinks, phone calls and internet.

Located in the southwest of Quito, this orphanage for boys provides them a safe and loving atmosphere. Boys aged from 6 to 18 years old are welcomed here. In the case boys are mentally challenged or have any other sort of disability exceptions to their age can be considered, admitting individuals up to 20 years of age.

Volunteers will be teaching English and Computers at the School located at this orphanage. Low income children who are not orphans come to this school to eat lunch. Volunteers can also assist serving their lunch.
Volunteers must be able to contribute with recreational activities with children or teaching children any kind of crafty creative activity. Children will create some items made of recycled paper in order to sell them on Christmas time. In the afternoons there will be a variety of workshops like carpentry, bakery and handicrafts.
Volunteering is from 8am to 4pm, Mondays to Fridays, weekends off.

Provided at Fundación Chiriboga’s house in Quito.

Basic knowledge of Spanish language is required.

300 Euro or US$360.
Fee includes 4 weeks lodging, breakfast, lunch (at the project), dinner and administrative assistance in the offices of Fundación Chiriboga. The fee does not include any type of transportation, bottled water, extra food and drinks, phone calls and internet.

We offer volunteer programmes on the island of San Cristóbal, Galápagos. We have projects available in the following categories: environmental, community work and hypo-therapy, which uses the therapeutic movement of horses to treat numerous conditions.
Our projects are situated on the upper part of the island, and we rely on the co-operation between various organisations.

Our mission is to provide alternative activities and projects which promote participation with the native communities on the island.
Our vision is to create sustainable projects with civic participation to create more opportunities to enjoy the tranquility which exists in the upper part of the island, as much for the volunteers and tourists as for the population of San Cristóbal.

We have a house and 50 hectares of land which are used for the project. We have a tree nursery which is used for the reforestation project, and also use eight horses for the practice of hypo-therapy.

Furthermore, we work in co-operation with families in the communities on projects involving the control and monitoring of harmful plants, as well as cultural exchange. Additionally, we work in co-operation with various other organisations for Inter-cultural interaction with children and teaching of Basic English; technical support at a reforestation project; providing hypo-therapy workshops for children with special needs and to provide fruit for the canteen.

This is an ongoing project. Minimum period of volunteering is of 4 weeks.

For this project we are looking for volunteers who are therapeutic physicists or who have some knowledge or experience of working in this field in the past. Volunteers will work with children with special needs, look after horses, construct their own project with special needs children, and assist with the logistics of bringing the children from INNFA in the port to the estate.

Volunteers will work from Monday to Friday, from 9am-12am and from 3pm-5pm.

US$450, to be paid in Quito at Fundación Chiriboga offices.
It includes 4 weeks of accommodation in the project's house. When there are groups of more than 10 volunteers per project, volunteers will be placed in family homes in the port. Our services rely on help in all areas relating to the needs of the volunteers, in particular help in preparing meals. The volunteers will buy the supplies and will be assisted by a lady in the preparation of meals.

The fees also include a tour on horseback for a day, a day of surfing lessons, 10% discount in the Dive & Surf Club shop and a volunteering certificate signed by the manager and the director of the Charles Darwin Scientific Station. This fee does not include food, flights, any kind of transport, local tours, bottled water, extra drinks, phone calls or Internet.