Global Awareness Program - the details . . .
If you are looking to get out and experience the world and learn about your place in it, our GAP Ecuador program offers a unique opportunity to travel with meaning, and to explore the spectacular diversity of this amazing jewel of a country. From the humid Amazon rainforest and cloud-forests to the high Andean sierra to the sun-drenched Pacific coast and the astonishing Galapagos Islands, with over 17 indigenous groups and 14 languages, Ecuador offers an undending source of potential inspiration and excitement.
As a GAP Ecuador volunteer you will:
- Spend the first month studying Spanish and volunteering in either cosmopolitan Quito or tranquil Cuenca. You will get the hang of the language while you settle in to being in South America with the support of our volunteer counselors and other school staff. You will stay with a welcoming local host family who provide breakfast and evening meal and help in the process of settling in to life in Ecuador.
- For the second month you can either volunteer in a project outside Quito or Cuenca, in one of over 35 local grass-roots organizations that we collaborates with, or you can travel to the Galapagos Islands and work on a conservation project.
- And if you decide to extend for a further month or more you can choose to do that, aided by our volunteer coordinators who will accompany you to the new site and get you settled in there.
- And if you are up for a little adventure and adrenaline we can arrange anything from scaling a snow-capped volcano, to exploring the deepest Amazon, or jumping from an airplane!
We believe that our modular program is the ideal way to take your gap year as it provides flexibility along with the assurance that you will receive the total support of our staff at all times, leaving you free to explore and experience the sights and sensations of magical Ecuador!
If you have any questions at all please email us. We can set up a Skype or telephone appointment so that you can chat with a volunteer counselor."The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one’s own country as a foreign land." - G.K. Chesterton.
Our GAP Ecuador service includes:
- Airport transfer to accommodation
- Orientation and safety briefing
- Full backup and emergency care
- Excursions and extra activities
- Accompaniment to volunteer placement
- Skilled group leaders to manage groups
- Wide range of volunteer options
- Spanish classes and courses
We maintain agreements with over 30 grass-roots and community organizations around Ecuador, projects that we have vetted and regularly re-evaluate to ensure that they maintain their high standards of community service and volunteer hosting.
We have worked with international organizations for the past 8 years, offering our services as in-country partners and hosts, and maintaining safety and emergency standards and procedures, to offer a reliable and trustworthy service to individual and groups of volunteers.