These two community service projects help the youths of Quito's communities and give you the opportunity to work with children in Ecuador. Volunteers can help girls from disadvantaged backgrounds - a positive attitude, enthusiasm and dedication will help encourage them to continue their studies. Other volunteers can work with younger children, organising activities and tutor sessions in Maths and English. Or, if you are interested in dance and arts, you can organise and plan workshops that will enable eager boys and girls to learn new skills that can earn them a needed income.

Project details:
CENIT (Centre for Working Girls) is an Ecuadorian non-governmental, not-for-profit organization that was initially founded to help disadvantaged girls in Quito who work as street vendors or in markets selling vegetables, fruits and candy. Every year CENIT serves 1,000 girls and family members directly and benefit an additional 4,000 individuals indirectly. CENIT maintains long term follow-up with girls and families to ensure that girls spend less time on the street, enjoy a childhood free of abuse, and are able to pursue their hopes for education. More recently the centre has been working with both males and females especially as families often do not let their daughters out without their brothers. CENIT has 25 permanent workers and an average of 10 to 20 volunteers per month.

Why the project needs volunteers:
These children spend an average of 10 hours a day on the street and another 6 hours working at home, looking after their brothers and sisters and doing housework. Girls are more vulnerable than their brothers in terms of sexual and physical abuse, teenage pregnancy, forced labour, discrimination and low self-esteem. Prior to this initiative most of the programs and centres established to assist children focused almost exclusively on boys, so the work carried out is invaluable.

What kind of skills you need to go on this type of project:
A love for children is needed for this project, just as a strong heart is required to work in this area which can be emotionally draining at times, but ultimately extremely rewarding. CENIT itself has 3 core values that it expects all volunteers to adhere to; integration, punctuality and no drugs or alcohol.

Your role as a volunteer:
There are different areas that you may be able to work in depending on how long you are staying, your level of Spanish and your personal interests. Although the project does focus on females and their development, you will likely be working with children of both sexes.

The Street Outreach program aims to establish positive mentoring relationships with the children, to encourage them to attend or return to school and to assist them with immediate problems. You will help to prepare academic, artistic and social activities for street and working children, and follow up on children and families. You should be willing to work outdoors and get dirty at this project.

At the Tutoring Center you can teach English and Mathematics to children at primary school age, and organize recreational activities for children who have finished their work.

At the Vocational High School you can assist with teaching sewing, carpentry, nutrition, drawing, dance, self esteem and painting. You could perhaps initiate a sexuality education course, a theatre or athletic project, or a hygiene education campaign.

Through the Production Workshop you could assist in the production of CENIT's handmade cards (sold to help finance programs), supervising and assisting children at work and/or helping to market the finished products. You could also help out in the weekly Medical Clinic keeping records and entering in new patients (taking height, weight, blood pressure and temperature).

Where the project is based:
Being in the capital city, you will have access to any facilities and resources you may need during your project, from Internet and library to stationary stores and local information. The city is well serviced with public transport. You can expect to travel approx 1 hr across the city from your homestay to your project.

You will need to arrive at Quito International Airport (UIO).

What exactly do i-to-i provide?

It may seem like a strange concept to pay for your volunteer experience. You'd be right if you think you shouldn't and the truth is you actually don't! Your placement is free; it's the benefits around it that you pay for. It's important to note that i-to-i is a travel company and not a charity. We provide a professional travel service. We are responsible for finding and assessing worthwhile projects across the world, preparing you for the volunteering experience and supporting you whilst you're there.

Here’s some more information about what your placement fee covers….

Project sourcing and assessment

We work with hundreds of locally run partner projects around the world and are constantly sourcing new opportunities. We visit all projects to check that they are worthwhile and legitimate and we also conduct a thorough safety assessment before we'll send volunteers there. More

Expert help-desk

Almost everyone who works for i-to-i has traveled extensively or worked overseas. This means we're a goldmine of information; we're always available to offer support and guidance before, during and after your trip.

Thorough project briefing materials

Once you book on to a project you'll receive a Welcome Pack that contains loads of general information about volunteering, about your chosen country and project, and a DVD about how to have fun and stay safe. We'll also give you advice on visas and inoculations.

TEFL training

If you are volunteering on a Teaching or Community Development project then a 40-hour Online TEFL course is included in your placement fee. This is an internationally recognised and accredited certificate that will help you to make the most of your time overseas. More

Airport pickup

It can be pretty daunting arriving in a different country for the first time… especially after a long flight! If you arrive on your project start date, there'll be a welcoming face at the airport to pick you up and take you to your accommodation.

Arrival orientation

Soon after you arrive you will attend a thorough orientation with our in-country team. This is to cover important safety and security information. You'll also get some tips about sight-seeing options for your time off and maybe even learn some of the local lingo!

Accommodation and meals

Accommodation is included with all projects and meals are even included with some. We only use locally-owned and operated accommodation so that part of your placement fee is filtering back into the local economy. Most projects offer homestay, guesthouse or shared volunteer houses as standard accommodation, but some offer the chance to upgrade to a more comfortable living standard. More

Local in-country coordinators

Your in-country coordinator (ICC) will pick you up from the airport and conduct your orientation upon arrival. All ICC's are English speaking and are locals of your destination country. They won't be at your project every day, but will be on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week if you need them. More

24/7 emergency support

Aside from the local support from your in-country coordinators you'll be given access to a 24/7 emergency phone line manned by i-to-i staff in case any problem should arise while you're overseas. We also hire crisis management professionals Docleaf to be on hand in case of a situation that requires additional expert support. More

Ongoing training

The safety and security of our volunteers is paramount. For this reason we provide ongoing crisis management and emergency response training to our local teams around the world. At the end of 2006 we flew all our in-country coordinators to the UK for thorough training to help them offer the best safety to the thousands of volunteers they support each year. More

Supporting our projects

We don't fund our projects directly, but once a year they are all invited to apply for funding for special projects or resources from our registered charity arm, the i-to-i Foundation. i-to-i funds the operation of the i-to-i Foundation and is the largest single donor. Along with the generous support of our volunteers, we have distributed over US$200,000 in funding in the last two years alone! More  

Recruiting people like you

We make no secrets of the fact that part of your placement fee is reinvested in to recruiting volunteers just like you! The volunteers recruited in one week will typically deliver over 2000 man-days of service. The difference this makes to projects overseas is immeasurable. Many of our overseas projects rely on assistance from international volunteers, so it's necessary for us to put together brochures and websites to find the people who can support them. This recruitment process is vital to ensure programs have a constant stream of reliable volunteers.

The intangible benefits

Volunteering through a company like i-to-i has a lot of intangible benefits to developing overseas communities and the individual projects that we work with. To find out more about our placements. click here

What we will do after you've booked:

• Once booked on you will instantly receive a welcome email confirming your booking with access to your online account
• We will send a Welcome Pack in the post containing further information and a t-shirt, the information in this pack should answer most things you need to know
• Community Development and Teaching customers will receive an email introducing them to their Online TEFL course
• Community Development and Teaching customers will be requested to complete a police check (where relevant) or send through a reference
• We will contact you if we require anything else e.g. CV/resume for some projects, doctors note for medical conditions etc.
• We will hound you to complete your forms and pay your final balance when they are due
• We are available for any questions you may have on 800 352 1794 or operations@i-to-i.com
• We will prepare for your trip and send you an email with final project and accommodation confirmation 21 days before you go

What you need to do after booking your place with us:

• Book your flights
• Arrange suitable travel insurance
• Fill out some extra details through our online interface:
  • application from
  • travel details
  • insurance details
  • medical information
  • emergency contacts
• Complete your police check or request your reference (where relevant)
• Do your Online TEFL Course (where relevant)
• Make final payment at least 60 days before you go
• Make sure you have a visa for your trip if its needed
• Visit a nurse or travel clinic for advice on inoculations and malaria prevention
• Read all details and prepare as much as you can for your trip
• Take contact details of the in country team and where you're going in your hand luggage - just in case!
• Get on the plane!

Orientation Information

Having arrived on the Monday, you will be taken to your accommodation in Quito. You will have a group orientation meeting with the in-country coordinator on the Tuesday morning, with your placement starting on the Wednesday. If you choose to take the language lessons add-on you will spend the remainder of the week in Quito - please contact the Latin America Team for more information on what this involves. You will then start your placement the following Monday, travelling on Saturday if out of Quito.

Insurance

It's important that you get adequate travel insurance for your i-to-i experience and as many of you will be working this often means standard policies won’t work. The good news is that no matter where your coming from we have already found a policy to suit you.

The best time to get your insurance is when you book your project as this means you can get a fully tailored policy exclusive to i-to-i, just ask your consultant for further details at the time of booking.

If you have already booked but still need insurance then you may still be able to take our tailored policy. If, however it was more than a few days ago then try the links below:

Australian customers - find out more here >>

All other customers - find out more here >>

Flights

As with insurance we advise you get these booked as early as possible to avoid high prices and to make sure you arrive on the right day. The i-to-i team is right up to date with the best deals no matter where you’re flying from; their insider knowledge could save you some time and money.

Early Airport Pick-up

If you are arriving before your designated arrival date, we can arrange for an extra meet and greet service for you. For an extra supplement we will be there to meet you at the airport and take you to the orientation accommodation. Accommodation payment for any extra nights will then be made in country directly to the accommodation (approx 14 USD per night) or for the accommodation upgrade (approx 30 USD per night).

The cost of this Early Pick-up service is US$ 45.00