Campo Cocha - An indigenous community in the jungle, May 2003 I would highly recommend volunteering for a month or so in the jungle. I spent a month in Campo Cocha with 3 other volunteers and or fearless guide, Cesar. We were the first volunteers to work in this community and the whole concept of having volunteers was very foreign to the people in the community. At the end of our stay though, the community was anxious to have more volunteers in the future. I guarantee that they will welcome you with open arms! The people is great, especially when you make the effort to spend time with them. Definitely initiate conversations, as they are sometimes shy. We spent most of the time teaching the children, at first all subjects as the teachers were on strike, later just English. The children are so sweet. I grew quite attached to them. Often, they showed up at our house to play with us all the random Western things they’ve never seen before (walkmans, electric shavers, cameras, radios, etc.). One very important suggestion: Be strict in the class room. The children will respect you more and listen to what you say! :) We also wanted to help the community in other ways, so we helped to build a “comedor” (dining hall) and gave a workshop about modern medicines. If you’d like to help the community, you can give workshops about one of many topics: hygiene, family planning, money management, communication, organization, etc. We were also able to take part in the everyday activities in the community - fiestas, football games, basketball and volleyball games, other workshops, church, competitions, and just hanging out in the cancha (field). I was fascinated by their culture and enjoyed almost everything we did. The only thing I had trouble with was the mosquitos. Bring LOTS of repellant! And make sure you have a good mosquito net. All in all, it was an experience I’ll never forget. It was quite a challenge at times, but the good always comes with the not-so-good. And in this case, the good overweighed the bad by far. An unforgettable experience! Danette Wolpert
From November 2003 till February 2004 I worked as an occupational therapist in the ABEI. I only worked with the kids of the daycare and I have done several games with them. I noticed after some time that the kids who are the most handicapped spend a lot of time in their beds and are only stimulated during therapy. This is very logical because it is more difficult to play with kids who can’t walk and/or can’t play with their hands. But especially for them it is important to play because they can’t look for games themselves. I made especially a box with games (mostly music games) for the volunteers, with games which are more expensive and which have more chance to break down. With these games you can play together with a child, one to one. This box also comes with materials for the “playbox” for the kids. There is also a dark room with different light effects, which is very nice for the kids. You can also enter this room with one of several children. At last I want to say that I wrote this report a short time after I made the dark room and bought some games. So when you are going to work there, things might have changed a bit; there might be more games to play with or the opposite, there might be that have been lost. But the most important thing is to stimulate the kids as much as you can! I hope you have lots of fun with the kids! Danielle van de Ven,
Occupational therapist
danieven@yahoo.com
We are two volunteers from Norway. We have been working for 10 weeks in a center in the South of Quito, CENIT. The center is for children of all ages. We have been helping the teachers in different workshops. It was a good experience, because the children are very open and curious about the GRINGAS!. Sometimes it was difficult, because they looked at us as playmates, not as "teachers". There for it was difficult make them listen to us. In the beginning the language was a problem. We didn't understand everything and they didn't understand everything and they didn't understand our "Spanish" on the other hand it's good for you Spanish because you have the opportunity to practice. It's important to come regularly, ten you get to know the children and what's going on in the center. The children also get to know you. This experience made our stay here in Quito more meaningful. ¡Fue muy chévere! Kirsh Petersen & Karoline Bernnoft Osa
My name is Monika and I worked in a kindergarten, the firs day was very nice, different from what I used to do in Norway. The director was old lady (82 years) and very conservative. She spoke some English which helped me since my Spanish was not exactly fluently. The language was a problem sometimes and I wish I could speak better. There are about 60 - 70 children and you need to be respected. People is very nice, and you can do many things with children such as games, teach some things and painting with hands, letters pictures. In my group there were from 12 - 13 kids every say and the age was 4 - 5 years old you must be strict in order for children to respect you. It's a great full experience in your life with because you can share many things these children because most of them are poor and they need to be helped, if you can give a lot of love them, give!. Please, they need it, they are so lovely that you get in love with them. My last day was sad, because when I had to say goodbye children cried, and they didn't want me to go that's why those children will always be in my mind. Congratulations "New Horizons", because you make more children to smile and to be a home. You are a new hope to them and many poor people in this beautiful country. Go on! Thank you for this experience. Monika
e-mail: olsen_monika@hotmail.com
phone: 4722360235 | 
