About i-to-i What i-to-i trips and TEFL are, how and why we do what we do!
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About i-to-i What i-to-i trips and TEFL are, how and why we do what we do!
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With urban areas bursting at the seams, Ecuador’s meagre resources get to the rural areas via the big cities and what’s left leaves little scope for large scale improvement. Unfortunately this forces people to move to the city looking for a better life and the problem only gets worse. One way of avoiding such a situation is for volunteers (who won’t use up resources) to help create opportunities in the countryside and give the people a chance to build a life there. This project does just that; it’s a day care centre which works with children to give them the best possible start in life and plays a positive role in community development.
Welcome to Ecuador! You will be collected from the airport by our i-to-i team who will be waiting in the arrivals hall for you; you’ll know who they are as they’ll be carrying our logo and they’ll be ready to give you a warm welcome!
You’ll be transferred to your home stay accommodation for tonight. Our home stay families are fantastic and so welcoming; it’s also your first opportunity to test out your Spanish skills!
You’ll stay with your home stay family for the next two nights so feel free to unpack, get stuck in with family life and enjoy the lovely home cooked local food!
Today you’ll have an early start, tuck into a hearty wholesome breakfast then head off to your orientation, which will be held at one of the home stay accommodations.
This will give you a good insight into Ecuador - the culture, things to do and see, what to do in case of an emergency and much more! It can also be a good way to meet other i-to-i travellers and ask any questions you may have. You’ll then be given some lunch and will have the afternoon free to explore or relax.
Today is the day you’ve been waiting for! You’ll be transferred to Tena by bus which takes about 6 hours; sit back as Ecuador whizzes past your window!
When you get to Tena, your homestay family will meet you at the bus station and you’ll have a chance to explore the area, you’ll be introduced to everyone and, depending on what time you arrive, you may be able to get stuck in to some activities this afternoon!
Today is your first full day of volunteer work and we’ll make sure you get involved in everything! You’ll be accompanied to your project on your first day and introduced to everyone – don’t worry if you don’t remember everyone’s name, you have plenty of time to learn them all.
Take time to learn the aims and plans of the project, you’ll enjoy it so much more when you learn what you’re a part of, and the staff there are always willing to tell you stories about the children!
It’s the weekend! Hooray! You’ve earned yourselves a nice little break from work so kick back and relax! You might like to take some of our suggestions or just head off on your own adventures…
If we were you, we’d head to the amazing caves of Kichwa and the Jumand caves! There are pools and waterslides to enjoy as well as the exciting caves – just watch out for the vampire bats as you enter!
Settle down in to the local pace and way of life as you spend your days teaching and helping eager children and making new friends every day, learning more Spanish and teaching more English.
However many weeks you have booked for, you’ll be making a difference every day in your project as you see your children learn more before you and see tangible results from what you are doing!
Oh no! It’s your last day in the Amazon and you’re terribly sad to be leaving! Don’t worry; you’ll have lots of amazing memories to take with you and new friends you’ve made and around 1,000,000 photos too!
You’ll need to make your own way back to Quito from Tena by bus and then from the bus station in Quito to the hostel reserved for you. If you are travelling in 2012 then your accommodation for your last night in Quito will be in a homestay.
Well, what can we say? We hope you’ve had an amazing time and we’ll miss you. If you’re heading back to the airport, the transfer is not included but our team will be on hand to make sure you know where you are going. The cost of the transfer is around US$20 so please budget for this.
If you are heading onwards around Ecuador or exploring more of Latin America, don’t forget to ask our in country team for advice or help if you need it!
There are two potential projects that you could be based at; the first being the Guarderia Pepito de Oro which was opened in 2005 and has approximately 30 children aged from 6 months to 5 years old. The children are split into three groups according to age; 6 months to 2 years, 2 to 3 years and 3 to 5 years of age and there are 3 teachers at the center. Parents normally leave their children at the project while they go to work. The day care center is funded by the National Government but this does not cover the additional help that is needed.
The second project in the KinderGarden which started in 1999, and is located in one of the poorest neighbourhoods in Tena, Barrio San Jorge. There are approximately 12 children from 4 to 6 years old attending the Kinder Garden who come from very poor families. 10% of the children attending the Kinder speak Kichwa as well as Spanish, an indigenous native language from the area. Also, in most cases, the children have divorced parents or are from single parent families.
Both of the projects that we work with are positively bursting with beautiful children, desperate to learn English and have a better future for themselves and their families. Tourism is a great industry in this area and by learning English from an early age; the children have a better chance of gaining employment in this area and earning a better wage.
The children and teachers do not speak much English, so we would strongly recommend that you learn as much Spanish before you arrive as possible. This will enable to you to settle in and feel comfortable in the school.
For both projects the parents only pay a very small monthly fee a month for this day care service for their children and so the day centre does not have the economic resources to hire enough staff. In the day care center the "mamacitas", or mothers of the community; who help there are almost volunteers themselves, so volunteers are needed to support the mamacitas efforts to give their children the best possible start in life.
These projects offer participants a great chance to have a positive influence on young children's lives. The activities will vary, including working with the older children, preparing them for kinder garden, prepare didactic material, help care for the smaller children (feeding them, looking after them), possibly start teaching songs or basic English to the older children, and playing with the children.
As a general rule, we ask for your help between 7.30am – 2pm, Monday to Friday, with the weekends yours to spend as you please.
Our experience has taught us never to enter a classroom without stickers! Children around the world go mad for stickers in their workbooks and will work hard for them too!
Other useful ice-breakers are feathers, footballs, balloons, plastercine, flash cards, and also photos of you, your family, house and pets to incorporate in your lesson plans.
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 fora the volunteering experience and supporting you whilst you're there.
Here’s some more information about what your placement fee covers….
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
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.
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 how to have fun and stay safe. We'll also give you advice on visas and inoculations.
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.
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 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
Your in-country team will arrange a pick-up for you at the airport and will conduct your orientation upon arrival. All coordination teams 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
Aside from the local support from your in-country team you'll be given access to a 24/7 emergency phone line manned by our response team in case any problem should arise while you're overseas. We also hire crisis management professionals to be on hand in case of a situation that requires additional expert support. More
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. We also fly in our in-country coordinators to the UK regularly for thorough training to help them offer the best safety to the thousands of volunteers they support each year. More
We don't fund our projects directly from the project fee that you pay us. Instead we choose to support a number of projects every year through a grant scheme for tangible long-term initiatives. In the last 3 years we have distributed over US$250,000 to our most needy projects to help them in the great work they do.
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.
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
Having arrived on the Monday, you will be taken to your orientation accommodation in Quito, this will be in a comfortable homestay and likely to be a shared room with another volunteer. You will have a group orientation meeting with the in-country coordinator on the Tuesday morning, and a trip to Mitel del Mundo in the afternoon.
Travel to your placement will occur on Wednesday morning and you will start work either Wednesday afternoon or Thursday monring.
If you choose to take the language lessons add-on you will spend the remainder of the week in Quito - please contact the us for more information on what this involves. You will then start your placement the following Monday, travelling on Saturday.
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.
EU Customers – find out more here >>
Australian customers - find out more here >>
All other customers - find out more here >>
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.
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 your orientation accommodation. One additional night a
The cost of this Early Pick-up service is US$ 90.00
Your accommodation in the Amazon is based within home stays with a local family. They are all comfortable and well equipped with electricity, running water and showers – it’s your home away from home!
In most cases you’ll have a shared bedroom with another participant of the same gender as you but don`t be surprised if you are able to have a room of your own! If you aren`t sharing with somebody else then we’ll make sure that your accommodation is as close together with another volunteer as you can be. Each bedroom has two single beds and storage space for your luggage. Basic bedding will be provided but you are welcome to bring a sleeping bag if you plan to go travelling at the weekends. We’d recommend that you bring your own padlock to keep your valuables secure.
There is a shared family living space so you might like to take items such as playing cards or books to bring in to the family space. Your new family will be keen to spend time chatting and getting to know you and we’d encourage you to get as involved in family life as much as possible. The bathrooms will be on a shared basis with the family and have running water, shower and Western style toilet. There isn’t a huge demand for hot water because the weather is already hot, and you’ll find that you won’t miss hot showers all that much!
Breakfast, lunch and dinner are included; expect traditional (and delicious!) meals such as: rice, beans, salad, meat, poultry, pasta, fish, etc.
Based on previous volunteer feedback, we’d recommend bringing the following items with you from home:
You’ll be based in the Tena during your stay – a gorgeous place to explore on foot! There’s so much to explore and see during your stay here that you’ll struggle to see it all.
You are within a short distance of every kind of amenity you’ll need; whether it is banks, shops, internet cafes, bars and even a doctor. Don’t forget that you’re living with a local family who will also happily show you around and show you sights that you wouldn’t find in your guidebook, so throw it out the window!
Depending on the school/project that you are placed, it is around 20 minutes bus ride or 5 minutes walk every morning. We’ll bet that you won’t have had a commute like this before! You’ll have people waving to you and children following you as you head to your school. Don’t worry about getting lost; you’ll be accompanied to the school on your first day.
For thousands of years before the Incas arrived from Peru to expand their empire, advanced indigenous cultures made Ecuador their home. They fought hard to hold on but from the 1400s the Inca’s succeeded in developing its civilisation into neighbouring territories. The Incas were not immune from shifts in power and, during the same year the Spanish set foot on Ecuadorian soil (1526), the Inca Empire was divided for the first time when Inca ruler Huayna Capac went against tradition by leaving his empire to two sons rather than one. After years of fighting, Atahualpa defeated Huascar to become ruler of the empire. His position was short lived and the Inca Empire was all but confined to a place in history when in the 1530s the Spanish laid down the foundations to rule the country. Under Spanish rule, Indians and Mestizos (people of mixed indigenous and European descent) suffered forced labour and several uprisings ensued. Liberator Simón Bolívar helped secure independence for Ecuador, which was fully achieved by 1830.
Against a backdrop of violent rivalry between liberal and conservative factions, an unstable political climate dominated the 19th century and was marked by a quick succession of rulers. The 20th century brought mixed fortunes. The country’s development was hampered by the collapse of the coco market in the 1920s and the Great Depression of the 1930s but it achieved stable civilian rule and increased banana exports from 1948 to 1960. Recession and social unrest led to an anti-communist military government taking power in the early 1960s and it wasn’t until 1979 that democratic constitutional measures were put into play. Indigenous groups now have a voice and influence on politics but the country has a lot of economic ground to cover and high levels of unemployment. On an environmental level, Ecuador is rich in biodiversity but has one of the highest deforestation rates in South America.
The diversity of Ecuador does not fit neatly into four seasons. As a general note, it has a dry winter from June to September and a wet summer from December to April. For hiking in the highlands, the best time is during the cool winter. For exploring the jungle (the Oriente), there isn’t a temperate period as it’s often thick with humidity, while the sierra can get chilly and coastal areas are warm year round.
The Galápagos Islands experience hot, rainy weather from January to April and its waters are comfortably warm during this time, making it ideal for snorkelling. During the rest of the year the water is on the chilly side at around 20°C (68°F) or lower. The surfing season is typically December to February.
The biggest celebration days are Christmas, Semana Santa (Easter week), Inti Raymi (June 24), and Independence Day (May 24). Expect an influx of visitors during these periods and from June to August when the vacation season is in full swing.
There’s no better way to see the snow-capped Andes than to fly. The flight from Quito to Cuenco alone takes in the sight of volcano after volcano. With great views aside, flying in Ecuador is affordable and also convenient; you can get to where you want to go in usually no more than half an hour’s flying time. The country’s main airlines like Tame offer daily services to the main towns and cities, usually departing from Quito or Guayaquil. It’s also the best way to get to the Oriente, with other modes of transport unable to access the area. Flights to the Galápagos Islands, however, can be pricey and flying time from Ecuador is around 3 hours. Depending on your destination but particularly for flights to the Galápagos Islands and the Oriente, there is a system in place whereby foreigners are required to pay more than double what Ecuadorians pay. It’s also worth noting that seats are not reserved and are given on a first come, first served basis. Reconfirming a flight 24 hours before is imperative as it’s not unknown for airlines to refute your reservation if it hasn’t been confirmed ahead of departure.
Buses are a cheaper option and although most long distance journeys take a day or less, it can feel longer due to the road conditions. Buses usually leave from central terminals and it’s best to buy a ticket at least a few hours in advance to reserve a seat. Local buses are often very cheap but also very crowded. Taxis are a good option for short journeys or day tips out of cities if hired for the day and can be cheaper than car rental. Taximeters are in existence but not always switched on so it’s best to agree on a price before the journey begins.
www.tame.com.ec
National airline Tame.
We work in partnership with hundreds of established projects that are run by local communities. The information on our website comes directly from the projects and we work with them to ensure this information is as accurate as possible. However, due to the very nature of the projects themselves the exact details of what happens on a daily basis can change with little or no notice. If you have travelled with us and have any updates to this information, please let us know.
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