Ecuador

 

After my trip to South Africa, I was inspired to do service work in a part of the world where I spoke the language. Since I have taken Spanish classes since high school, it made sense to visit South America. My friend and I found a program in Ecuador that paired volunteers up with organizations throughout the country depending on our interests. Through this program we were paired up with two organizations: Caritas de Esperanza and Yanacocha. 

 

For the first three weeks my friend and I traveled to Esperanza de Azama right outside of Otavalo in the Andes. Here we worked with the local children in an after school program as tutors. We helped them with their homework, taught english, and played games with them. This was a wonderful way to become integrated into a community and learn about a whole new culture. While we were working at Caritas de Esperanza, we celebrated Intiraymi, the summer solstice festival. We danced in the streets and celebrated with our neighboring towns. On weekends we explored the area or helped our host mother with work around the village. 

 

For the second three weeks we traveled down to Puyo which is right on the fringes of the Amazon rainforest. Here we worked at a wildlife refuge as glorified zookeepers. We prepped for the the animals, cleaned cages, maintained trails, and developed enrichment exercises for the animals. Yanacocha is a refuge for animals that have been trafficked and confiscated or dropped off because they are no longer wanted as pets. Yanacocha rehabilitates these animals and releases them when possible. During this part of the trip, we took weekend trips to the famous hotsprings and other exciting local attractions. While the first three weeks of the trip satisfied my need for a cultural and service based experience, this part trip excited my inner biologist! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo Credit: Anna McGinn