Overview

The Aliñambi Foundation is located a half hour bus ride south of Quito, Ecuador. It was originally started as a home for children who either do not have parents or cannot live with their parents for whatever reason (e.g. child neglect). The Foundation also runs a school (Pre-Kindergarten through 7th grade) and a medical center which serve the surrounding communities. At the moment there are 22 kids in the Home and 163 in the school.

Details

Minimum/maximum number of volunteers: 1

Length of project: 10 months

Dates: Beginning of September to beginning of July. You will have two weeks off in December (the school goes on vacation for one week, but English classes end one week before) and one week off in either March or April.

Project: A volunteer doing a 3rd year option here will serve primarily as an English teacher. You will teach English in the school and when you have free time during school hours you will help out in one of the classrooms as a teacher’s aide. Outside of school hours you will teach another English class to the high school-age students of the Home (who go to school on Saturdays) as well as some of the adults who run the place. You will also help with the day to day functions of the home, for example, getting the younger kids ready for school in the mornings, helping the kids with their homework, etc.

Location: 30 minutes from Quito, Ecuador

Room and Board: The Foundation will provide you with lodging and food. You will live in the home itself, but you will share your own apartment with other volunteers (who will come in and out throughout the year). You will eat all of your meals with the kids (although you will have a kitchen at your disposal).

Financial requirements of volunteer: Volunteers will need to pay for their airfare to and from Quito, and for any personal pocket expenses for the year.

Specific skills/qualifications: Volunteers should come with some knowledge of Spanish - Spanish ab initio should be fine, though the beginning will be rough. However, if you don’t speak any Spanish at all, you could also come a month before the school year starts to take classes. You would live in the Home and help out in the mornings and take Spanish classes in the afternoons (in your own apartment); you will speak enough Spanish by the time school starts this way. The Foundation will arrange the classes but you will have to pay for them (about $400 for a month of classes, 4 hours a day 5 days a week). This is also an option if you already know some Spanish but not much, in this case you could have classes for two or three weeks.

For more information contact: alinambi_uio@yahoo.com

Back to 3rd Year Options homepage