Ecuador Volunteer Programs from $21/day | Most Affordable & Trusted

The kindergarten program is a great fit for anyone who wants to see what it's like to work as a kindergarten teacher and/or to rapidly improve Spanish from nada. The kids are so loving even though you don't speak their language, and they compliment on your progress as you speak/understand more, which is very motivating. You can have a great impact if you do speak fluent Spanish, the teachers at the kindergarten give you an option at the beginning to plan lessons if you wish.

This was a great program. I really enjoyed my time working with the children in Quito, Ecuador. The staff at VCE are the friendliest and most helpful people and you will really enjoy your time in Ecuador.

My last 24 hours in Ecuador were unforgettable. Waking up to a half-packed suitcase reminded my that the end had finally arrived. After four weeks, I was both excited to go home, while at the same time, wishing I could stay four more. I went to school for my program Friday morning, teaching English to middle schoolers at the public school. I was hanging out with the students in the school yard before class, getting ready to go into the classroom, when they proposed we "play a game." This game then involved blindfolding me and my fellow volunteers...but we all went along with it. They brought us to our classroom and removed the cloth to reveal a surprise goodbye party the students themselves had organized. They had some snacks and soda, a couple balloons, and a poster. I was so shocked I cried. I realized then just how much this program meant to me and how much I would miss it.
Later that night, I was headed to the airport with my friend. Time for another round of goodbyes, this time to my host mother and 5 other volunteer friends who I lived with. As sad as I was to leave them, the goodbye was not too tragic. We had become so close over the month I had no doubt I would see them again at some point. In fact, we already had a trip planned.
I just could not believe I had been there for a month, traveled so much, met such incredible people. Overall an amazing trip.

My husband and I taught English to 360 11 and 12 year olds for a month. We tried to help the teacher reach her goals as well as to create a stimulating and positive environment for the teaching of English. The kids were open and interested and were a pleasure to know. The program and teacher were fully supportive of our efforts. We received back much more than we gave. We were humbled and grateful for the experience. We also taught English to a group of kindergarten teachers. They were model students and we thoroughly enjoyed our time with them. They made wonderful progress.

I thought this was a great program, and I liked the convenience of getting to the school everyday, about a 10 minute walk. I enjoyed working with the kids, and teaching them songs, and the teachers were very understanding and helpful when trying to learn the Spanish language.

It's a great experience to live with a host family, be immersed in Spanish, and see how other cultures live their lives. I am a teacher and the work UBECI is doing with these socially and economically deprived children is great. You get to help work with the kids on key skills, such as following directions, concept of print, using a pencil etc. It's very rewarding, and a lot of fun.

Overall, my experience with UBECI has been wonderful! The staff and other volunteers are very supportive and the children we work with are so beautiful. I chose to spend two weeks working in the markets with the young children, one week with the 1-3 year olds and the second week with the 7-15 year olds. Every morning the staff would meet us volunteers at the office to head to the market together which I really appreciated. Since we spent about one day a week at each market, it was nice to see more of Quito and the different dynamics of the markets. At the same time, rotating the markets (each market location is only open a couple days a week so no choice) made it difficult to make progress with the children. Coming with parents to sell on a daily basis, some of these children are not in school and receive all their academic training from us. It was hard to repeatedly work with the young children unable to recognize basic shapes and colors we had covered the week before. At the end of the day, I had to look and appreciate the small successes in each child´s life and I am so glad UBECI is there for these children. Not only do they stress learning though books, puzzles, and lessons, they also emphasis hygiene, physical movements, and emotional wellbeing. The staff and volunteers do so much to be loving and present to these children. I highly recommend volunteering with UBECI and enjoyed my experiences in Quito with them!

UBECI is an amazing organization to volunteer with. The program is well structured with concrete goals. After working with the program for 2 months, I can say I really feel like I am making an impact on the children´s life here. I was orginally only going to stay one month with the program but after 3 weeks I decided I wanted to stay longer. I love the program, my wonderful host family and traveling in Ecuador. Everybody is so welcoming and for no matter how long or short you stay(or your level of Spanish) you will feel at home. Our typical day begins in the office with a short meeting on the goals for the week. We then travel by bus to one of the 4 markets we work at. Once arriving we set up tents and gather children from the market. During the first hour of our time with the children we play with them, read books and most importantly give them an opportunity to be kids! After we begin teaching the children various concepts including numbers, shapes and opposites. We then take a break in the afternoon for lunch and work again from 2-4:30. We work Tuesdays-Friday and thus you have plenty of free time to travel during the weekends as well. The children range from the ages of 1-14. So there is certaintly the opportunity to work with the age group you prefer. I usually work with the children from the ages of 4-6 and I really enjoy it. The kids are so full of life and want to get to know you as well. This program and the children in the markets have taught me so much about life and I have gained so much from this experience. I can not recommend this program enough. Ecuador is a unique country to visit and you can make a real difference here. -Lisa Zychowski