This is the application for EduAmistad Ecuador's Winter 2018 Service Trip. Below is more information about the organization and the trip itself. The due date for this application is
**********************DEADLINE EXTENDED TO NOVEMBER 17TH**********************

After you submit the application, we will contact you about scheduling an interview (in person or via Skype). Thanks!

Note: we do preference current undergraduates and recent graduates. Ideal applicants will be between the ages of 18 and 25.

About Us:
EduAmistad Ecuador is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a mission to provide volunteer-driven health and English education to Ecuadorian students to prepare them with a toolbox of new skills and information to make healthy decisions and improve their quality of life. We accomplish this goal by training American and Ecuadorian university students in progressive, near-peer education techniques so that they can engage with students and make authentic, personal connections.

Since our inception in 2015, EduAmistad Ecuador has taught over 700 students at over a dozen different locations in and around Guayaquil, Ecuador. In the summer of 2015, Ariel Yardeni and Nicolas O’Connor – our two co-founders – worked with local leaders and educators to determine which issues where the most critical in their communities. Since then, we have focused our efforts on three main issues: drug abuse, sexual health, and healthy relations. Today, we work closely with la Dirección de Acción Social y Educación (DASE) in the Municipality of Guayaquil. Through this partnership, in January 2016 and January 2017, we brought for three weeks eight US volunteers to Guayaquil to teach both health and English education to at-risk students returning to school in order to complete their basic education and complete technical training. This upcoming January 2018, we will continue our program with DASE and expand the size of our third cohort to a total of fourteen volunteers. We are currently recruiting volunteers for our health and English education programs.

About the Trip:
This year, our program will run from December 28th, 2017 to January 19th, 2018. For schools on a semester schedule, you should be back in time for class.

Our program is divided into Health Education and English education. We teach at a few different schools in Guayaquil run by the municipal government, and we arrange transportation for all volunteers. We teach Monday-Thursdays, and spend our time teaching and preparing lessons. We have lesson plans that were developed by past volunteers; our large task this winter will be to build upon them and create more interactivity and teachable moments.

The program also includes a weekend day-long excursion to the beach, a weekend overnight trip to Cuenca, and other social activities. We live together in a hostel where we work, socialize, and leave to go to school from each day. While we work hard on our lesson plans, there will definitely be time for exploring and experiencing what Ecuador has to offer.

This year our trip leaders will be Maribel Albarracin (CUNY- Hunter) and Nick O'Connor (Harvard/Georgetown Law).

Note: While we do not  (and will never) discriminate against applicants who have dietary restrictions, it may be difficult finding appropriate food if eating out in Ecuador as much of the cuisine centers around meat (much like the rest of Latin America). However, we do tend to cook many meals as a group in order to make it easier for people with dietary restrictions. We will do our best to accommodate you, but please keep this in mind and plan accordingly. Thanks!

Cost:
Because we are a small nonprofit, we do ask that volunteers cover their own expenses and contribute to the organization. To this end, we charge an $800 program fee. This fee covers the following: housing in Guayaquil, breakfast, school supplies, in-country transportation, some other meals and social activities, housing in Cuenca, emergency funds, and a $100 tax-deductible donation which helps us cover our administrative costs. Volunteers are expected to pay for their own flights to and from Guayaquil.

If you have any questions about the program, please feel free to contact us at eduamistadecuador@gmail.com!
(Application continues on the next page)