Name:
Email address: 
***(please provide email only if it is ok for other volunteers to email you about project)
Partner organisation:  Guamani Clinic
Start date: Feb 1
End date:  Feb 21

1. What were the main tasks you undertook at the project? Did you have any prior experience or knowledge that helped you with these?

Taking blood pressures.  Helping with physical exams.  Yes, i worked as an emergency medical tech.

1. Was the explanation and support you received from the organisation adequate to ensure you could carry out your work successfully? If not please explain why.

Yes, although I wish I knew more Spanish prior to beginning.

1. Would you recommend working with this organisation to other volunteers? What are the main areas of skills and interests that volunteers need for this work? Please give reasons.

YES! The people are wonderful.  I would recommend coming in with a strong background in Spanish, although the staff is very understanding and flexible to your needs.

1. Was the communication and support you received from Yanapuma, before and during your time volunteering adequate? Please comment on the initial orientation session, showing you to your site and communication throughout.  If not, please specify why and how it could be improved.

Yes – Fran is the best!

1. How would rate your overall experience at this project?

Enjoyed it a lot, thank you!

1. Any other comments?

It was very far from Quito, but it is apparently located in a bad area.  (i felt it was perfectly safe, but i was only there during the day and many many people told me it was an unsafe area at night). So i would recommend either living closer to the clinic or finding another clinic closer to your area. One and a half hours of commute each way is too long in one day for me!

1. If you would like, please write a short paragraph summing up your project and experience volunteering, as well as if and why you might recommend this volunteer site to others in the future. We will put this information on our Volunteer Ecuador website, as a direct quote from you to help others learn about your experience.

My experience in La Clinica Guamani was very much appreciated.  Laura the Obstetrist was so welcoming and patient!  I enjoyed my time and learned a lot.  Thanks!

Muchas gracias!!!

Volunteer Ecuador Evaluation
Email address:
***(please provide email only if it is ok for other volunteers to email you about project)
Partner organisation: Guamani health clinic (Blanceado subcenter)
Start date: Feb 1, 2010
End date: Feb 21, 2010

1. What were the main tasks you undertook at the project? Did you have any prior experience or knowledge that helped you with these?

I worked at the Guamani health clinic each day, alongside any one of their regular doctors, seeing about 20-30 patients daily.  Being a fourth year medical student and having a good command of conversational Spanish facilitated my work.

1. Was the explanation and support you received from the organisation adequate to ensure you could carry out your work successfully? If not please explain why.

Yes, they were great.

1. Would you recommend working with this organisation to other volunteers? What are the main areas of skills and interests that volunteers need for this work? Please give reasons.

Yes.  I think I got a really good Spanish immersion experience out of this clinic, and a decent medical experience as well, seeing some diseases (rheumatic heart disease, extreme failure-to-thrive, HIV) which I do not often encounter in the US.

1. Was the communication and support you received from Yanapuma, before and during your time volunteering adequate? Please comment on the initial orientation session, showing you to your site and communication throughout.  If not, please specify why and how it could be improved.

Yes, communication with Fran was very clear and made things very easy upon arrival to Quito.

1. How would rate your overall experience at this project?

9 out of 10... only downside was that Guamani is quite far from central Quito, and volunteer should know that it´ll be an hour commute each way before deciding to live in central Quito.

1. Any other comments?

1. If you would like, please write a short paragraph summing up your project and experience volunteering, as well as if and why you might recommend this volunteer site to others in the future. We will put this information on our Volunteer Ecuador website, as a direct quote from you to help others learn about your experience.

I am a fourth year medical school student who spent nearly a month working at the Guamani clinic in southern Quito.  Since I had a decent Spanish background, I was able to fit into the clinic quite well and see patients on my own at times, presenting them to an attending doctor afterwards.  It was a great experience and really helped me build confidence in my Spanish communication abilities.