ORGANIZATION: HOSPITAL DE NIÑOS
BACA ORTIZ
Nature of the Institution:
This is a hospital which houses the following centers:
- Child and Infant Nutritional Recuperation
Center.
- Center for children with cerebral paralysis.
- Center for invalid adolescents.
In addition, the hospital has the following facilities:
Operating room, laboratories, diagnostic center,
clinic, pharmacy, second hand clothing store, school for children
with learning disabilities and physical handicaps, and various
other projects.
Responsibilities of Volunteer:
Volunteers can choose to work in the area that
they are most interested in or where their skills can be put to
best use. The work mainly involves spending time with and assisting
in the care of the full time residents of the home. Volunteers
can work full time or part time and their schedule and the area
they wish to work in, will be arranged on site.
ORGANIZATION: COLEGIO 24 DE MAYO
Nature of the Institution:
This is one of the biggest and best known public schools
for girls in the city of Quito. The school is very helpful and
willing to offer the best facilities for all foreign volunteers.
Responsibilities:
English as a Second Language teacher responsible
for planning and implementing classes for girls of various ages
and abilities. Classes are taught 2-4 hours/day. Sessions
run from: October to June but it is not a requirement to
work the whole year.
ORGANIZATION: ACADEMIA LATINOAMERICANA
(not available until june)
Nature of the Institution:
The Academia is an institution which teaches Spanish as a foreign
language, in addition to organizing various cultural activities
for the students during their stay in the city of Quito.
Responsibilities:
Student services coordinator position available
for a well organized dynamic person. This is a very popular program,
which means that there is a lot of work to be done. Volunteers
will be involved in a variety of tasks from translations, international
correspondence, organization of cultural activities, and special
projects.
ORGANIZATION: CENTRO LOS NIÑOS DE
LA CALLE
Nature of the Institution:
This is a private organization supported by UNESCO that provides
counseling and support for street children and their families
to enable the children to return home. The organization works
within the public school system as well as directly with the children
in the streets. They also provide temporary homes for the children.
The Centro is located in the northern part of Quito.
Responsibilities:
There are two of positions available. Those with
Social Work or Psychology specialization's can help the regular
full time staff with counseling for the children. Those without
specific qualifications can help in areas such as administration,
homework, activities and general care of the children.
ORGANIZATION: CENTRO DE
AYUDA EN LA CÁRCEL DE MUJERES
Nature of the Institution:
The group was founded and is funded by a group of professional
women to provide support and counseling for women with a variety
of problems in jail.
Responsibilities:
Depends on skills and experience. May involve
a variety of tasks from administrative to direct support of counselors.
ORGANIZATION: SALA DE ARTES
KINGMAN OR GUAYASAMÍN
Nature of the Institution:
A privately funded art museum located in the commercial part of
Quito. It promotes understanding and knowledge of modern art.
The exhibits are mainly works by Guayasamin and Kingman. There
is also a section displaying pre -Inca works. Guided tours are
offered as well as art related lectures.
Responsibilities:
Those volunteers who are professional artists
can give art classes to children and adults, other volunteers
are needed to talk about art to children and encourage their participation
in museum activities. Translators are needed for correspondence
and logging from the guest book. Also, help is needed in recruiting
and training local volunteers.
ORGANIZATION: MACCHI PUCUNA FOUNDATION
Nature of the Institution:
An environmental protection agency that works in a variety of
areas from cloud forest protection to promoting products of local
indigenous groups.
Responsibilities:
Activities depend on season, current funding,
and participant's experience.
Accommodation:
When the work requires volunteers to work in
remote areas, very basic housing is provided, usually without
a charge.
ORGANIZATION: LA CALETA - HOUSE FOR CHILDREN
Nature of the Institution:
La Caleta provides food, shelter, clothing, and education to poor
children.
Responsibilities:
Depends on skills and experience. May involved
a variety of tasks from administrative to direct support of counselors.
ORGANIZATION: DISPENSARIO MEDICO DON BOSCO
Nature of the Institution:
This is a social medical program. The dispensario is run by a
Catholic organization but the volunteers don't have to be Catholic
or members of the organization to participate. The "Dispensario
Don Bosco" houses the following:
- diagnostic clinic
- pharmacy
- second hand clothing store
- school for children
- various other projects
Responsibilities:
Volunteers can work in the area where of most
interest to them or where their skills are most needed. The work
mainly involves spending time with and assisting in the care of
the full- time residents of the home. You full or part-time schedule
will be arranged on site as well as the area that you will work
in.
ORGANIZATION: HIJOS DE LOS
PRESOS (CHILDREN OF PRISONERS)
Nature of the Institution:
The Children of Prisoners is a home for children who have nowhere
to go whilst their mothers are serving time in jail. The home
provides them with some form of stability and a guarantee of food
and a roof over their heads, until their mothers are released
and they can return home. The children stay at the home for varying
lengths of time but all of them are without parents and desperate
for attention and love.
Responsibilities:
To spend time with the children, to play with
them, help them with their homework. The most important thing
that these children need is someone to care for them, to pay them
attention and listen to what they have to say. The "Children
of the Prisoners" desperately needs volunteers who can give
a lot of love to children who need affection more than anything
else in the world.
ORGANIZATION: HOGAR DEL
NIÑO "SAN VICENTE DE PAUL" (orphanage)
Nature of the Institution:
This is an orphanage run by Nuns, consisting of 6 different houses
each with approximately 15 - 20 children living there. 5 of the
houses are for children aged 2- 18, the other house is for babies
aged 2 and under. There is only one Nun living in each house so
the orphanage is desperately shortstaffed and looking for volunteers
to help the children with their everyday activities or even just
be there to pay them a bit of attention.
Responsibilities:
Volunteers have no specific responsibilities,
their only duty is to be with the children in the orphanage, play
with them, help them with their homework and listen to their problems
and most of all give them lots of love, as they have no-one else
who will.
ORGANIZATION: FUNDACIÓN DE LA MUJER
CAMPESINA:
Nature of the Institution:
This is an organisation set up to teach women in rural areas in
the province of Carchi about health, diet, hygiene and to help
them improve agricultural techniques. This is a good programme
for both those interested in social work and those wishing to
be involved in ecological projects.
Responsibilities:
Volunteers will spend part of their time in Quito
at the administrative headquarters of the organisation, developing
new projects to help the rural communities. The rest of their
time will be spent on location in Carchi, with the local women,
teaching them about how to prevent disease and illness by the
use of basic hygiene, sanitation and by improving their diets.
In addition volunteers interested in agriculture and ecology canbecome
involved in the development and improvement of farming methods.
For example the " Fundación" needs volunteers
to help with the following programs; training of farmers, conservation
of the farmland with natural fertilizers, the planting of hedges,
the digging of irrigation ditches and the cultivation of vegetables
and crops to improve the diet of the inhabitants of the area.
Volunteers interested in working on the agricultural/
ecological side of the project, will speak directly to Inés
Lluminquinga on arrival, to decide their working hours and whether
they wish to be involved in all the projects or just concentrate
on one particular area.
ORGANIZATION: COMITE DEL
PUEBLO: PARROQUIA SAN JOSÉ OBRERO
Nature of the Institution:
The Comite de Pueblo was originally a communist commune set up
in the 1970's but it has grown into a huge slum in the North of
Quito housing over 70,000 of the city's poorest people. Many of
the houses still lack electricity, heating and indoor plumbing.
In the 1980's Padre Colin a Scottish missionary
came over to Ecuador to try to help the people of the slum. Since
his arrival he has built a church, a school with a school canteen
to ensure that the children of the slum get at least one good
meal a day, a library and a hospital with basic medical facilities
for the inhabitants of the Comite. All of these facilities lie
on the outskirts of the slum. In addition he is currently engaged
in a variety of projects to improve the living conditions of the
people in the slum and try to ensure that they have access to
clean water.
Responsibilities:
There are opportunities for volunteer work with
the children of the Comite every afternoon, volunteers are needed
to look after the children, help them with their homework and
generally entertain them. This is an ideal volunteer placement
for people with lots of imagination who can create entertainment
for the children, with very few resources. Past volunteers have
written and directed plays or set up art and craft sessions. The
most important thing is to be enthusiastic and able to share your
energy with these children who have nothing waiting for them when
they go home to their houses in the slum.
There may also be opportunities for volunteer
work in the hospital and with the housing projects.
ORGANIZATION: FUNDACIÓN REINA DE
QUITO:
Nature of the Institution:
The "Fundación Reina de Quito" is an institution
made up of the ex - beauty Queens of the city of Quito, who on
leaving their post, dedicate much of their time and energy to
charitable projects to help the children of the city. There are
a number of initiatives which the "Fundación"
supports, for example, work with street children, work to improve
the city of Quito and various other charitable projects. One project
in particular is desperately in need of volunteers to work with
Down Syndrome children.
Responsibilities:
In the mornings the children are divided into
groups according to their mental abilities and volunteers are
needed to work with them to improve their manual dexterity and
help them to learn how to write or draw. In the afternoon the
children receive individual therapy which concentrates on physical
aspects of their development. Volunteers do not have to be physiotherapists,
as the "Fundación" will provide training to teach
them how to administer physical therapy to the children.
ORGANIZATION: SEGUROS EQUINOCCIAL
Nature of the Institution:
This is a well known Insurance company with 26 years of experience,
it deals with a variety of different insurance claims but specialises
in Property, Fire and Personal Injury Insurance. It also has two
subsidiaries in Quito which deal with health related insurance.
Last year Seguros Equinoccial was the most profitable insurance
company in Quito. It is a business funded entirely by Ecuadorian
money and the major shareholder is the Mayor of Quito, so it has
a lot of prestige within the city.
ORGANIZATION: GALAPAGOS
BIOLOGICAL STATION
(Galápagos Islands)
We are proud to announce the opening of a new
program on the island San Cristobal in the Galapagos. The new
reserve site is located in the highlands of the island, on a 200
hectare site, where there is still native vegetation. The native
vegetation consists of Miconias, ferns and other native herbacious
species.
This new program will be open to researchers,
guided natural history groups, and to volunteers. The accommodations
are rustic, with room at the moment for groups of up to 12. Expansion
of the cabin facilities to accommodate larger groups is planned
for the future. Researchers can obtain needed permits with assistance
of the Academia. Natural History groups must reserve at least
4 months in advance of their visit.
Main objective is to develop reforestation and
technology to reconstruct native habitat in the highlands on San
Cristobal Island, and to serve as a center for similar projects
in the highlands on other populated islands in the Galapagos chain.
The remaining native highland forests on the populated islands
is quite limited due to farming activities in general, and the
introduction of useful, but very invasive species from the mainland
such as tropical cedar and Cinchona. The program has established
a Plant Conservation Center for the production of native plant
species for this work.
In addition the foundation will be working collaboratively
with local landowners to develop clean agricultural alternatives
for the production of vegetables and fruits to sell to local universities,
restaurants, and hotels. Due to the extensive importation of products
from the mainland, invasive species are entering the Galapagos
on a daily basis. This agricultural production program will be
initiated this year.
Volunteers will work on both the habitat restoration
and agricultural components while at the reserve. In addition
program staff will lead volunteers on various destination hikes
to a nearby lagoon, native forests, beaches, the local villages
to explain the ecological and human dynamic of Galapagos. Opportunities
to work on group research and monitoring projects will be developed.
Requirements:
Minimum work commitment:
4 weeks
Maximum work commitment: 8
weeks
Spanish: high begginer
Schedule: Monday through Friday
(20-40 hours a week)
Capacity: 10 volunteers
Other: Patience, hard working
hands, desire to work in the field under difficult weather conditions.
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