Community Partner since 1996.
Mother-daughter pair Ann Hite and Maddie Hite-Smaka volunteered in Ecuador over Maddie’s 26th birthday to be able to spend time together in a different setting, away from home. At the end of their week in service in Quito, Ann and Maddie reflect on their time together and how this experience differed from any other. Maddie […]
In her team journal entry, Ecuador volunteer Maddie Hite-Smaka describes the humbling experience of visiting the home of a child and being graciously welcomed by the family. The team was invited to visit the home of Ana María (mother) and Daniel*, a three-year-old with whom they worked at an early childhood development center for the […]
In this journal entry, two-time volunteer Betsy Creedon covers the ABCs of volunteering in Ecuador – everything from altitude to llamas to learning phrases in Spanish. Read on to learn about what fun it is to volunteer with children in Ecuador, and bond together as a team. Betsy concludes it’s so much fun, there are […]
In this journal entry from her third day in service, Ecuador volunteer Ann Hite reflects on what the young children at an early childhood development center on the outskirts of Quito have taught her while she has played with and taken care of them. Ann served at a center that feeds and educates 60 children […]
First-time volunteer Sandi Tsai was so inspired by her experience in service that she decided to organize an event to fundraise for Global Volunteers’ program in Ecuador once she was back home. In Quito, Global Volunteers partners with FUNDAC, an organization of women that runs two early childhood development centers for disadvantaged children on the […]
Ecuador volunteer Madeline Hite-Smaka reflects on convenience, assumptions, and perspective after her first day in service at an early childhood development center for disadvantaged children on the outskirts of Quito. She marvels how at the FUNDAC center in Calderón – which feeds and educates 60 children each day – nothing is wasted. In her team […]
In this guest post, Ecuador volunteer Gordon Smith takes us along on his step-by-step discovery of service abroad with preschool children and their teachers in our partner community. Secure as a father and grandfather, he knew he’d relate well to small children – even if they spoke a different language from him. In surrendering to […]
Team #183 to Ecuador helped the Foundation of Ladies of Calderón carry out an extremely important renovation project in July 2019. Read here about the history of this project and the struggle to provide a clean and safe place for disadvantaged children on the outskirts of Quito. Global Volunteers’ community partner in Ecuador – Foundation […]
There cannot be a holiday in Ecuador without there being a specific food that goes along with it. For Holy Week, it is an elaborate, rich, creamy soup packed full of grains. This deliciousness is called fanesca. Fanesca can be found in restaurants several weeks before Holy Week, but families get together to prepare it […]
Seventeen determined Medtronic employees joined a March team in Quito, Ecuador for a week of service and bonding. Pouring their hearts, skills, and strength into their assignments, the women helped paint the exterior of the two-story early childhood development center, tiled the dining room, and cared for the 80 children alongside the center’s teachers. The […]