Name: 

Email address:

Partner organisation (Volunteer Site): Tierra de hombres

Start date: 08 – 12 – 2008

End date: 01 – 05 – 2009

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

• When the children entered the day-care centre with their parents, I helped the newest children with saying goodbye too their parents. When they were crying a lot I stayed/played with them until they played alone or with other children.
• When it was time to eat (5 times a day) I helped the children with washing their hands, give out the food, I helped the children with eating or bringing them to bed if they were sleeping.
• If they needed help in the kitchen I helped with preparing the food and after the children ate I helped with the cleaning.
• When it was time for the children to play I played with them without disturbing their autonomy. That was an important vision of the day-care centre. One day I played with the little 2 year-olds and another day I helped the children in pre-school with more difficult things to prepare for primary school.

My study is pedagogics so I have knowledge that helped me with doing my work. I never worked with children of this age-group so that´s why I wanted to work in a day-care centre.

• 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.

In the beginning I really had to get used to different habits if I compare it to Europe. But the directresses at the day-care centre always wanted to explain me everything when I had questions. And they also wanted to listen to me if I had some new ideas. I notices that it´s better to ask something to the directresses than to the educators because sometimes the work is accomplished differently by the educators than the directresses want to.

• 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.

If you like to work with children I would definitely recommend this organisation. I would recommend to work there for a time of 2 months. I worked 5 months and it was a long time. Of course it was for my internship but if I could do it again I would prepare myself better. I recommend internship abroad only to the people who are 100 % sure of it. 

• Was the communication and support you received from Yanapuma, before and during your time volunteering adequate? Please comment specifically on the powerpoint orientation session, being taken and introduced to your site, and all contact throughout. If no please specify why and how it could be improved.

I didn´t had the powerpoint orientation session but I was introduced and taken to the site. I really appreciated that we went exactly the route you needed to take to the word because otherwise it would have been more difficult to get there the first time alone. Further, I had help with writing my investigation report and translations and we had contact during my internship.

• How would rate your overall experience at this project?

The first couple of months I really liked the project and the children and I could help a lot. There were also other volunteers and I liked to talk to them and play together with the children. But like I said 5 months was a long time and the last 2 months there were no other volunteers

• Any other comments?

• 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.

Muchas gracias!!!

Volunteer Ecuador Evaluation
 
Name:                         Email address:            
(please provide email only if it is ok for other volunteers to email you about project)
Partner organisation:   Niñez y Vida
Start date:                    03 de Mayo, 2010
End date:                     26 de Mayo, 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?
 
 Mostly, I ran around and played with the kids.  They were always quick to grab my hand and lead me to exactly where they wanted to play.  I broke up fights when they arose, and held kids that were crying for their parents.  I also helped out in the kitchen the last few days, and they needed a lot of help preparing the food.  Experience with kids would definitely be a plus, as well as experience with Spanish.  Some of the volunteers from other organizations didn't speak any spanish, and I think they had a harder time.  All thats really necessary though is an open mind and a desire to help.   
 
 
2.    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.
 
 There wasn't a whole lot of planned activities, but with that said, there was definitely plenty to do.  Except for maybe the first day, when I was unsure of myself, I never felt useless.   
 
 
3.    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.
 
 I would definitely recommend this to others, although I would warn them that it is really tiring work.  I would recommend doing it with only a few hours of class or as a stand alone project.  Anyone who likes kids and has a decent foundation in spanish would be great at this.  I don't think the spanish is absolutely necessary, but it definitely makes things easier.   For example, I used basic commands (like sit down, stop yelling, etc.) often, as well as colors and shapes.  
 
4.    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.
 
 Yanapuma's help with this was great.  It was so nice to have Fran show me the bus route and get me settled the first day.   
 
 
5.    How would rate your overall experience at this project?
 
 Great!  
 
 
6.   Any other comments?
   
  -
7.    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.
 
 Volunteering at Ninez y Vida was a great experience.  The kids were so open and sweet, and you could tell that they loved the extra attention.  The kids would grab my hand as soon as I walked in the door and take me around to the different play areas.  Some just wanted to hold hands or hug, some wanted to be spun around in the air, and others liked to run up to me and ask what my name was, only to run away and repeat a moment later.  Every so often, I would help in the kitchen, chopping up fruits or veggies and practicing my Spanish with the other ladies.  In the end, it was hard to leave, and I would definitely love to come back.  Before I came, I was nervous to volunteer in an area so far away, especially on the bus system, but Fran came with me my first day, and made it very easy.  The buses to and from the school weren't very crowded, and I never felt unsafe.  I would definitely recommend this position to future volunteers!   

 
Muchas gracias!!!

Volunteer Ecuador Evaluation

Name:                         
Email address:              
Partner organisation:   Ninez y Vida
Start date:                    05.02.2010
End date:                     25.02.2010

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

I did all the tasks, what the local nurses did too. In the morning I had to wait for the children, than played with them, attended in the different projects, helped them in logical plays.
I helped for the nurses to arrange the different projects for the children (drawing the forms to paint, cutting forms for gluing projects etc….) and I helped also too manage them.
I helped also to manage the eating (taking the meals: breakfast at 9 am, fruits at 10.30 am, lunch at 12.30 pm) too.

• 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, all the colleagues in the nursery school were very helpful and very kind. I got clear messages what to do; we helped each other a lot.

• 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.

 
I would recommend for sure. Main areas of skills:
-should be a person, who likes to work and play with kids, who has connection to kids in her every days,
-volunteer should be a positive person, kind, friendly, cheery,
-volunteer should be a person who understand the language of the kids,
-person who is self-contained, who can find the tasks, also without help; who can work alone too (average numbers of children are 80 kids per day in this nursery school and it can happen that all the other nurses are occupied, but some kids needs help…)

• 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 I got adequate information. I enjoyed Fran’s presentation before the volunteering. It was full of interesting and useful information.

• How would rate your overall experience at this project?

It was perfect experience! I enjoined it a lot! If I would have the possibility to do it once again, I would do J

• Any other comments?

It found a better bus connection to reach this nursery school. There is a bus between Plaza Grande and Toctiuco, which is turning from the Ave. America into calle Rio de Janeiro. From this corner you can reach a nursery school within c.a. 10 minutes and also the way back is shorter, it is just the same time. Because the bus is coming back on the same way and you can get off before the Historical town and don’t should cross the old town where is a big traffic in lunch time.

I can recommend this nursery school for others too, because all the nurses are very polite, helpful and kind. And they appreciate your help.

The family host with Lorene Campaña is perfect to do this project. They live in ideal place on the half way of the Nursery school and Yanapuma.

• 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.