Projects Abroad female volunteer working with children in Ecuador smiles with a child on swing set at our Childcare Project.

Volunteer with Children in Ecuador

Help children at kindergartens and support early childhood development in the Galapagos Islands

Destination

Ecuador

Age

16+ y/o

Minimum Stay

2 weeks

Start Date

Anytime

Accommodation

Homestay

What’s Included

24/7 Support

Round-the-clock support on the ground and 24/7 back up from our global teams.

Accommodation & Amenities

Clean, safe, and welcoming accommodation. A home away from home with comfortable amenities.

Activities, Training & Equipment

All programme activities and equipment, including training and workshops from experienced professionals.

Certification

Certified record of service hours, workshops, and activities for your CV.

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Starting at £1,675 for 2 weeks

Flexible 0% Interest payments

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Trip Overview

Assist child development

Support young children by creating fun educational activities, improving English through conversations, and contributing to their development.

Inspire the next generation

Assist teachers with their daily tasks, renovate and improve their learning environment, and help children reach their potential.

Learn from local professionals

Work alongside experienced teachers and caregivers, gaining insights into Ecuadorian childcare practices and contributing to their efforts.

Explore the Galapagos Islands

Discover the enchanting beauty of San Cristobal Island, with its stunning beaches, volcanic landscapes, and incredible wildlife.

Experience Ecuadorian culture

Live with a welcoming host family, savouring traditional Ecuadorian cuisine and immersing yourself in the unique culture of the Galapagos Islands.

What you need to know

Overview

If you’re energetic, fun-loving, and have loads of patience with little ones, you’re the perfect fit to volunteer with children in Ecuador. You’ll gain hands-on childcare experience and develop your personal skills, like communication and planning. This can help your future career. Best of all? You’ll become part of our ongoing efforts to help children in the Galapagos.

No experience in childcare? No problem! You will be supporting the local teachers and carers and have Projects Abroad staff members close at hand to help guide you along. We also provide training, workshops, and lesson planning resources.

Our Childcare Project in Ecuador runs year-round, and you can join at any time. We recommend staying as long as possible so you can have a bigger impact on the children.

A Day in the Life

You will start your day with breakfast, prepared by and enjoyed with your host family. After this, you’ll walk to your placement. On your first day, Projects Abroad staff will accompany you to show you the way.

Your workday will usually run from around 8:30 am to 3:00 pm.

During the morning session, you’ll help teachers in class by assisting with lessons. You’ll also work closely with small groups of children who may be struggling with specific tasks.

You can head back home for lunch. Alternatively, you can arrange with your host family to take packed lunches along to work.

After lunch, the children will take a nap. You’ll use this time to discuss lesson plans and activities with your teacher and fellow volunteers. We welcome input and fresh ideas from all those who volunteer with children in Ecuador. Spend the last bit of the afternoon playing games or doing sports outside with the children. This will help them get rid of some of their extra energy before heading home!

Evenings and weekends are your free time to relax and explore with fellow volunteers or new local friends. You can also use this time to do an add-on Spanish language course to improve your own language skills.

Aims & Impact

The main aim of this project is to improve early childhood development in Galapagos. Our volunteers play a vital role in helping children reach developmental goals for their age.

We work with kindergartens that are understaffed and have limited funding. As a volunteer, you will help support teachers and work with them to identify the needs of each child. To do so, we train you how to use our early childhood development checklists.

Ecuador is also a popular tourist destination, so we also focus on teaching English. Good English skills help people find employment, so we try to give children a solid foundation. This also helps them cope once they start learning English formally at school. Teachers also benefit from practising English with you, and they use any materials, like flash cards, created by volunteers.

We’ve laid out four goals in our Childcare Management Plan to structure this project and make it sustainable:

Promote Early Childhood Development
Improve hygiene
Improve English
Improve the level of stimulation each child receives

Our hope is to help lay a strong foundation for these children to build on, becoming confident students with exciting future prospects. Help us to achieve this by joining us as a Childcare volunteer in Ecuador.

Activities

Your main role as a Childcare volunteer in Ecuador is to help kindergarten teachers give individual attention to as many children as possible.

You will do a variety of tasks, such as:

Run educational activities like helping children learn to read
Improve English language skills through conversation
Run hygiene awareness campaigns to help keep the children healthy
Support for special needs children with individualised attention

Your work will focus on the following areas:

Encourage learning through play

As with most kindergarten-aged children, little ones in Ecuador love learning new things and practising their skills daily. Volunteer with children in the Galapagos, and help improve their early childhood development by:

Teaching educational songs
Doing arts and crafts
Playing games and sports outdoors

It’s important to have an element of fun in each of these activities, as children learn best through play. We also encourage volunteers to work closely with small groups of kids. This will help you identify areas that need further development.

Improve English language skills

Galapagos is a tourism hotspot. When locals have a good grasp of English, they can conduct better business and live more prosperously. You can help lay a foundation from an early age by teaching the alphabet, having conversation sessions, and reading English books to the children.

Encourage best hygiene practices

An important part of your role is to encourage children to practise good hygiene every day. You can help improve hygiene by teaching them how to brush their teeth properly and to wash their hands regularly throughout the day. Make this fun with songs, games, and little class challenges.

Support for special needs children

Due to a lack of designated facilities in Galapagos, children with special needs are often enrolled in mainstream schools. You can help the local teacher by providing personalised support and stimulation to assist these children in keeping up with the rest of the class.

For all of these activities, we’ll give you training, workshops, and resources to help you do the best job possible.

Map & Location

The Galapagos Islands are a “living laboratory” and world-famous biodiversity hotspot. Located 1,000 km west of mainland Ecuador, their isolation has resulted in unique species found nowhere else on earth. A real “Bucket List” destination.

With no natural predators, the animals show almost no fear of humans. Get ready for up-close encounters with incredible creatures like Galapagos Giant Tortoises, Marine Iguanas, and Blue-footed Boobies.

San Cristobal

San Cristobal is the fifth largest and farthest east of the Galapagos Islands. Although not the biggest in terms of population, it is home to the capital of the Galapagos Province and oldest settlement on the islands, Puerto Baquerizo Moreno.

With a population of around 7,000 people, Puerto Baquerizo Moreno is a sleepy, tropical settlement with all of the essentials. You’re just as likely to find friendly sea lions lounging around town as you are the welcoming locals!

Food & Accommodation

Enjoy your Ecuadorian experience with a warm and welcoming local host family, carefully vetted by us. They’ll provide everything you need for a fantastic time, including a comfortable bed, three meals a day, and fresh drinking water, with transport to and from your placement arranged by our team.

Your home away from home will be clean, safe, and secure with fast Wi-Fi and in a convenient location. Your host family will prepare your meals and you will speak with them every day, giving you a unique glimpse into the local language, culture, and cuisine.

You will live alongside other Projects Abroad participants, possibly sharing a room with someone of the same gender and age as you. This gives you the chance to share the experience, build bonds, and relax with other travellers on your trip.

Free Time and Leisure

The Galapagos Islands, famous for the research Charles Darwin did here with its many unique animal species, is the ideal location to explore and immerse in the tranquillity of nature.

While you’re volunteering here, it’s worth checking out the beautiful beaches where seabirds circle above and sea lions laze about on the sand. You can also go snorkelling or scuba diving along the coast.

Hiking around the base of one of the many volcanoes that make up the Galapagos is spectacular and thrilling! You can also follow the Darwin trail or trek through the Punta Pitt.

There are plenty of museums and art galleries for you to learn more about the culture and history. You can also chat to locals and buy souvenirs at bustling markets.

What’s great about joining our projects is the chance to connect with other volunteers. So you can choose to explore the Galapagos independently or you can travel with the new friends you make along the way.

Your Arrival Made Easy

When you arrive at your respective airport, a member of Projects Abroad staff will be there to meet you. You can find more detailed information on arrival airports, orientation, and visas on our Ecuador Arrival Procedures page.