The Centro de Discapacidades works with local children with special needs, from the high functioning to the severe. It’s a really amazing organization because they work without any public funding to serve a community that really has no other options for assistance. You’ll not only be taking some stress off the parents by helping take care of their children, but you can also share your skills and education with people who really need the help. We’re looking for qualified professionals like therapists, but the center could also use volunteers who are interested in assisting the staff in other ways. Such as teaching them games or activities that work with special needs children, or helping the staff with their English.
The Guardería is a day care center located in Manglaralto, a quiet village just south of Montañita, and it is an unprecedented resource for the community. This safe and educational environment is completely free for the parents and they also provide meals for the children while they’re there. This makes an enormous difference for the families in a poorer community like Manglaralto. It allows (usually young) mothers to go to work or school and contribute to the family income, and it allows more children to be better prepared for primary school. Your time volunteering at Guardería will improve the experience for the children by lowering the student/teacher ratio and exposing them to a different language and culture. You’ll also have the satisfaction of knowing that you not only gave these children a good day, but also improved the lives of their parents, their families, and therefore their community. That’s a lot of people you are helping!
Acuario Valdivia is a community project that has been operating for 11 years. It is the only coastal aquarium in Ecuador, and people bring in injured and stranded animals from all up and down the coast. Not only do they do amazing things for the animals, they have also taken on the role as a community center for the tiny village of Valdivia. They have begun an Ecological Kids Club at the aquarium in the afternoons and gives the local kids a fun, educational space to hang out after school.
You have the opportunity to join this unique community project and share your passion for wild life and ecological protection. Volunteering during the morning hours will mean that you will be working directly with the animals, feeding them, cleaning them and giving them medical care. In the afternoons you can work with the Ecological Kids Club, helping them with their homework, giving English lessons, or making arts and crafts out of recycled trash picked up off the beaches. Your only limitation is your creativity!
The Ecuela Primaria is situated right in the center of Montañita and there are about 370 students aged from 4 to 16 years old. As just a native English speaker, you can supplement the grammar books, which tend to have a lot of errors, and help their English teacher. You can come up with activities and games that will take advantage of your pronunciation, and help the students with their speaking skills, which tend to be where they need the most help.
There isn’t a good structure when it comes to the English classes at the school, but this provides a great opportunity for you as a volunteer to make a real difference in the program. There are chances to get involved in sports or art classes, and really make use of the skills that you have. If you have teaching experience and more confidence in the classroom, Genoveva, the director of the school, is more than willing to work with us so that you can take a more independent role and create a curriculum to teach while you are there. The opportunities to make a difference are endless!
Besides these volunteer organizations, we have programs with clinics and hospitals in the area that specifically attempt to help the under-served and poorer communities out here on the coast. If you are a doctor, nurse or medical student, and want to make a difference here, please contact us!
I don’t want to sound too cliche, but volunteering for a couple weeks really can improve the lives of people in the local community and enhance your life too. A couple weeks may not seem like it’s going to change the world, but in the aggregate it can make a real difference. If every student that came through our school donated 2 weeks of their time, the cumulative effort could really effect real change.
If I’ve piqued your interest, you can reach us at our website at http://www.montanitaspanishschool.com/ or email me (April) at info@montanitaspanishschool.com. I hope to hear from you!
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