Voluntourism – the combination of volunteering and traveling – is a growing trend that’s shoveling backpackers and recent graduates into South American cities at an alarming rate. Read on with our South America expert, Mari Suyama, as she offers an inside look on volunteering in Ecuador.
Volunteer job banks and databases such as www.volunteersouthamerica.net and www.volunteerlatinamerica.com list excellent volunteer opportunities but require the participant to cover their own room and board or pay a small sign-up fee. Some jobs cost $3 a day to cover electricity and water costs, other jobs charge you $600 a month for the unique experience of cleaning up monkey feces.
Volunteering in the Ecuador highlands
I was determined to find a volunteer opportunity somewhere in South America that would not charge me to work for them. That’s why I ended up in the chilly highlands of Ecuador. It was the only volunteer opportunity that I was able to arrange from home that was absolutely free.
Ecuador’s education system is divided into the dismal public sector and the competitive private sector. There is also a separate system for the Sierra region and the Coastal region. If a mother wants a good level of education for her child, monthly tuition is $150 to $900 at a private institute. Otherwise, the child is stuck going to one of the overcrowded, underfunded public schools.
There is one other option for families who can’t afford private school but care enough to send their child on an hour long bus ride to school each morning. The Sierra Flor School in the Cotopaxi region, www.sierraflor.org.
Sierra Flor School is located south of Quito in the snowcapped mountain region of Cotopaxi. The school opened 13 years ago as a daycare for children of nearby rose plantation workers. Today it has over 100 students and provides quality bilingual education for grades primary to nine. Considered a private school, it charges $20 a month for tuition and includes a hot shower in the morning, two full meals a day and healthy snacks. Sierra Flor has a handful of paid teachers but runs primarily on the generosity of volunteers.
The initial cost to volunteer is free and about 15 volunteers a year receive free room and board in exchange for volunteer hours. Housing options are private or shared rooms in a volunteer house or a placement with an Ecuadorian family. But dinner and weekend sightseeing trips require a personal monthly budget of $150 to $300 depending on how much you want to see and how much fun you plan on having on weekends.
Although the school is located in a rural area, the short walk to the highway gives you access to any bus imaginable. The bus system is the lifeline of Ecuador and costs roughly a dollar per hour of travel, making weekend trips from Sierra Flor is a cheap and easy option for exploring the country.
Voluntourism developing and changing the face of Ecuador
Voluntourism is changing the dynamic of the Cotopaxi region of Ecuador by introducing diversity and multiculturalism into a mainly Andean population. Volunteers come from all corners of the world and early on, the children learn acceptance and equality and begin to see Ecuador with the same amazement and respect as the volunteers.
“Volunteers promote well being of self and country that encourages the kids to stay and do something great for Ecuador once they finish school”, says Sierra Flor Director Jacky Barreiro. “It’s one of the best volunteering positions in Ecuador because we truly value the volunteers. The work at Sierra Flor has long lasting effects on the community, province and country.”
Jacky has worked at Sierra Flor since its inauguration and believes the special kind of education the children get from the teachers and volunteers brings great opportunity to an area of Ecuador that has a university completion rate of less than two percent.
Tuesdays after a yogurt break, volunteers and teachers get together to discuss the progress of the students and the difficulties of the week. Everyone at Sierra Flor wants to make a difference yet it’s still difficult to find volunteers because of the rural location of the school, one and a half hours from Quito, but also because of lack of resources. Since monthly tuition is only $20, little money is left for advertising.
Sierra Flor sits 90th in Ecuador’s section on www.volunteerabroad.com and when a volunteer stumbles across the listing it’s like winning the lottery, explains Jacky, who was lucky enough to find enough volunteers for 2009-2010. She is still struggling to fill spots for September 2010 even though there are hoardes of backpackers working slave-like hours at a hostel reception desk in Quito in exchange for free accommodation.
Volunteering at a school like Sierra Flor is a much more rewarding experience than volunteering at a hostel or cleaning up after animals – not only because of the cost. Volunteers are always needed and knowledge of Spanish is not necessary.
For more information on how to turn your Ecuadorian vacation into a volunteer trip of a lifetime, contact volunteer coordinator Ana Maria at [email protected].
Mari Suyama is a freelance writer from Toronto, Canada who is currently on a one-year journey working and volunteering in South America. She is tripatlas.com/new’s South America Expert – go to our South America Trip Guide for more.