Colourful Ecuador Spanish School and Volunteer Platform

08/06/2017

Planning to go to Ecuador? Learn yourself some slang from Ecuador and understand easily what some people in Ecuador mean!
http://www.fluentu.com/spanish/blog/ecuadorian-slang/

Preparing to spend some time in Ecuador? Here are 103 Ecuadorian Spanish Slang words that'll absolutely win the locals' hearts!

02/06/2017

Help with homework, assist during meal times, care and play with at-risk children what aims to the situation of poor children who work or who accompany their parents who work in the El Arenal market neighborhood of Cuenca.

Many of these children come from indigenous communities in the province of Azuay, from areas where the peasants have left their land to move to Cuenca looking for a better life for their family. However, you will find many children in the market working as shoe shines, selling newspapers, sweets or vegetables or carrying heavy loads.

The foundation offers a preventative socio-educational service to at-risk children and adolescents whose families work in the market. The project aims to keep children in school, offering them support with their education and stressing to their families the importance of keeping their children in school and off the streets. The aim is also to help the families with any problems they have, educate them in regards to health and nutrition and offer training. Through an integrated approach, oriented to preserve the continuity of schooling, improve family relations, and develop individuals who can take charge of their own future, the aim is to increase the skills and confidence of at-risk children so that they can find the courage to break the vicious cycles of poverty and abuse.

Do you have any questions or do you want more information? Contact us on Facebook, visit www.colourfulecuador.com or send an email to [email protected]

01/06/2017

Think about your own future but also think about the future of vulnerable children, children in a hospital, monkeys in a sanctuary or the eco-system on the Galapagos Islands.

Go to www.colourfulecuador.com to find our volunteer projects and maybe you change the future of someone else.

26/05/2017

Help at a center for street children with homework, in the carpentry workshop, visit schools, prepare educational activities and much more.

The center for street children, Sinsoluka, is a non-profit organization for children who live or have lived on the streets of Quito. The name Sinsoluka means ´without glue´, derived from the fact that a lot of people living on the streets of Quito are addicted to drugs and/or sniff glue because it is the cheapest drug they can afford.

The project was created by two psychologists whose aim is not only to help the children but also their parents. This project has helped a lot of families get off the streets, find somewhere to live and when possible a job. And most importantly the project is now in its second phase of working with the children of the original street dwellers. The aim is to stress the importance of education as a way of breaking the circle and ensuring that these children do not fall for the same way of life and temptations that their parents did before them. With the help of funding and sponsors, the project pays to send the children to school and help out with any costs that the family may not be able to cover like school uniforms, books, materials etc.

Do you have any questions or do you want more information? Contact us on Facebook, visit www.colourfulecuador.com or send an email to [email protected]

19/05/2017

Helping the local eco-system while you are staying on the Galapagos? On San Cristobal Island it is possible!

Hacienda Esperanza is a small farm located in the community of La Soledad on the island of San Cristobal in the Galapagos. It is owned by a family that has been on the island for several generations. The farm provides in the maintenance for most of the family members. The farmland is divided in different lots on different locations and also one lot is dedicated to sustainable tourism where tourists can camp with an amazing view over the coastal line of San Cristobal. The family has a close relationship with the national park and as most of their lands border with the national park they perceive it as their mission to collaborate with the National Park in restoring the land to conserve the Galapagos Islands and to provide a habitat for released Galapagos Giant Tortoises.

The Galapagos Islands is a unique place in this world, with a fragile eco-system that faces many challenges, among which the quick spreading invasive plant species that destroy the local habitat. The most common ones are blackberry, guava and elder and they cover extensive areas of the islands and represent a real threat to the native and endemic flora and fauna of the Galapagos. They are not only found on privately owned lands, which only constitute a small percentage of the island, but mainly in the National Park area.
Do you have any questions or do you want more information? Contact us on Facebook, visit www.colourfulecuador.com or send an email to [email protected]

18/05/2017

Start with learning Spanish
Use your ability to travel
Do something back for the communities

Do you have any questions or do you want more information about Spanish classes, traveling in Ecuador or volunteer work? Contact us on Facebook, visit www.colourfulecuador.com or send an email to [email protected]

12/05/2017

Do you like soccer? Maybe you like being a soccer coach at a great local initiative in Puerto Lopez as well!

Due to lack of municipal initiatives and options for local youth, Freddy Soto started a soccer club for the youngsters. Through sports he motivates kids to stay in school, gives them motivational talks, and they get additional English classes each afternoon with volunteers. Youngsters can only be part of the soccer team if they are inscribed at school and get good grades. He also arranged an agreement with a school in Canada where every semester several team players get the opportunity to go to a completely paid exchange to improve their English if they have been member of the soccer club for at least two years and have good grades at school. The soccer and English program runs all year.

Your tasks within this voluntary project will be training with the different soccer teams and give English classes. There is also a special need for a female soccer coach, as many parents only allow their girls to play if there are female volunteers.

Do you have any questions or do you want more information? Contact us on Facebook, visit www.colourfulecuador.com or send an email to [email protected]

05/05/2017

In June the whale season starts and we have the perfect program to do whale watching research, behavioral data analyzation, help out with photo identification and many more. All in all, a lot of whale watching.

Since 1997 the Pacific Whale Foundation, located in Puerto Lopez, has dedicated time and effort to recollect data about whales and contribute with scientific research to the Whale Commission South America. This happens every year during the season that the Humpback Whales come to the pacific coast of Ecuador. Every year from June until October the humpback whales come to these warm waters that pass the pacific coast of Ecuador to find their mates and have their young. They swim all the way until the south of Colombia before heading back again to the waters of the Antarctica.

As a volunteer you can observe these amazing animals and contribute to the research. Since 1997 the Foundation has identified and catalogued over 2200 different whales by photographing their tails and has contributed to different scientific studies and determination of migration routes, feeding areas and more. Besides whales, marine birds and dolphins are also monitored. You can choose between a 1, 2 or 4 week program. All programs start every Saturday.

Do you have any questions or do you want more information? Contact us on Facebook, visit www.colourfulecuador.com or send an email to [email protected]

04/05/2017

Are you interested in coming to Ecuador to learn Spanish, volunteer or travel? That's a great idea, as Ecuador is one of the most bio-diverse countries in the world and has also other benefits. Did you know that:

• From Quito you can travel to either the coast or the jungle in only 6 hours!
• Ecuador has the purest form of Spanish in Latin America, and is therefore the number one spot to learn the language…
• Ecuador was the first country in the world to declare that Nature constitutional rights in 2008.
• Ecuador exports more bananas than any other country in the world and grows over 300 varieties of this delicious fruit!
• Ecuador has the highest diversity of humming bird species (131 kinds!)
• Ecuador is home to the Galapagos Islands, where scientist Charles Darwin discovered proof for his theory of natural selection.
• The Panama Hat is originally from Montecristi and has been officially renamed in 2013 to be recognized worldwide as the Montecristi hat

But moreover, Ecuador is a great destination to combine learning Spanish, Volunteer and Travel due to the fact that in this small South American country all can be done in a relative short amount of time, due to the not-so-long travel distances.

Do you have any questions or do you want more information? Contact us on Facebook, visit www.colourfulecuador.com or send an email to [email protected]

28/04/2017

Are you still looking what you want to study or do you want to have more experience? Maybe teaching at a primary school is something for you!

The school ‘Reino de Quito’ is a traditional state-run school founded in 1942, located in the colonial center of Quito. The school receives about 500 children from 3 to 12 years old. As it is a public school, the Ecuadorian government provides for most part of the resources such as infrastructure, equipment, teachers’ salaries, uniforms for the children from 3 and 4 (from 4 they have to buy their uniforms themselves), school snack and educational materials. In this school you will find all kinds of children who come from many different economic and social backgrounds, most of them come from poor families, some live with both their parents, others come from single parent households or live with their grandparents. Their families are mostly bricklayers, artisans, housemaids, street vendors (some children sell candy on the streets as well), or they are unemployed.

Your tasks can be supporting the English teacher, being an assistant in other classes, give sports/computer lessons or help during break and playing times.

Do you have any questions or do you want more information? Contact us on Facebook, visit www.colourfulecuador.com or send an email to [email protected]