Volunteers in Ecuador Reflect on Their Experience

A team of volunteers discuss the experience of serving in Ecuador:

“As I sit down and write and reflect on today, I realize what an amazing opportunity I have been blessed with – a great team leader, a new and beautiful country to experience, and most of all, I am reflecting on the lives of everyone I encounter and how we make each other better people.” – Margaret

“As the day wrapped up at the center, I helped get the children ready to leave and said my goodbyes to the children for the day. I will never forget sweet little Sofía and her goodbye today. She is so quiet and content in a class full of wild children. When her name was called to leave, she came to me and squeezed my hand and leaned in to give me a kiss on the nose. As she left the room, I watched her walk down the hallway with a full heart when she turned around and waved and smiling with the sweetest smile on her face…this put the true meaning to the quote I shared about spreading love and happiness to all people I encounter.” – Margaret

“I thoroughly enjoyed the week I spent in Ecuador. My one week of service left me feeling energized and with a sense of accomplishment.” – Barbara

“Every experience abroad changes my life for the better. I have a renewed sense of hope, love, and strength for the future generation after spending time with the children of Ecuador. I will never forget not only the difference I made in Ecuador, but also the difference that the children made on me. The key to understanding between cultures is to be open-minded and to have the desire to learn new things. I fell in love with Ecuador because I truly experienced the culture.” – Alyssa

“It amazes me how close I felt and how much work got done within a couple of weeks because everyone shared the same goal of loving and caring for the children. It’s good for the soul to be surrounded by such warm and genuine people for two weeks. It gives me hope and restores my faith that the world is good. I loved how resourceful the daycare staff were with what they had. It makes me reevaluate my life and what is truly a necessity.” – Joyce

“I absolutely loved everyone I worked with. The team I was with worked well together, the team leader was fantastic, the tías were super welcoming and fun, and the children were so sweet. I felt at home here and hope to bring what I learned back to the States.” – Hadley