Current    |      Past

Ecuador Leadership Experience
July 2010

The Ecuador Leadership Program provides a unique opportunity to partake in service learning, volunteerism, and educational programs in one of the most beautiful places in South America.   Participants will travel to Ecuador and upon arriving will explore Quito, the capital city of Ecuador.  They will then travel to the beautiful Chimborazo province in the Andes. They will then participate in a number of activities, including school building, learning about rural development, volunteering with local organizations, and being involved in cooperative games with the local children. As well, they will be participating in seminars and visiting the vast haven for environmental biodiversity.

Rationale

Service Learning
A unique and distinguishing component of this program is the concept of “service learning”.  Service learning can be identified as experiential education when the learner adopts a life role that provides meaningful service to a community in order to learn about oneself and others.  The pedagogical value of the service increases when the following are added to the learning:  an academic component designed to prepare the learner in terms of content and competencies relevant to the service; an opportunity to reflect upon and think critically about the experience; an element of adventure and challenge; an international and cross-cultural context; and an alignment of individual, placement, and system goals. 

Affiliation
The delivery of this program is in conjunction with Free The Children and Me To We. Co-founded by Marc and Craig Kielburger, Free The Children has earned world-wide recognition for its dedication in eradicating child labour throughout the world.  One of its programs, entitled Me To We, is devoted to youth leadership and has established program sites around the world. In this present program, we will be visiting the Chimborazo province of Ecuador.

Participants

Youth
Approximately 20 young people will be selected for admission to this program and will include primarily high school students.  This number has been governed by the practical exigencies of traveling to this area of the world.  Participants will be selected according to the following criteria:
 
            1.        Trustworthiness and reliability
            2.        Respectfulness of other people and cultures
            3.        Adaptability to new experiences
            4.        Fitness
            5.        Pleasant disposition
           
Interested students will be invited to submit an application and two letters of reference attesting to their suitability according to the criteria cited above. 

Leader           
The Leader for Adventure Learning Experiences for this trip is Ms. Joanna White. Joanna is an experienced teacher at St. Joan of Arc High School in Barrie. In recent years she has led 2 high school trips to Kenya.

Code of Conduct
Each student will be expected to pledge commitment to a Code of Conduct,  which will be designed to ensure that respect for each participant, his/her property, and well-being is safeguarded.  This code will preclude harassment and abusiveness and will prohibit the use of alcohol and drugs.  Above all, the rights and responsibilities of all participants will be clearly defined so that the objectives of this program may be achieved within a healthy and safe environment. 

Interviews
Each applicant will be invited to a private interview with the Directors to assess his/her suitability for the program. This will also give the applicant the opportunity to determine if the program serves his/her needs and interests. Students will be asked to bring their letters of reference to this meeting.

Program Design
The authors propose that this learning program be offered as a one credit cooperative education model using the Interdisciplinary Studies curriculum document. The course will be designated IDC4U or IDC3O and will derive learning expectations from a variety of courses.

The program will consist of a learning program, conducted before departure, followed by the trip to Ecuador. The pre-trip program is meant to sensitize participants to issues involving this part of the world, develop rapport between participants, and deal with health and safety concerns. Participants will be asked to select and explore a topic of personal interest related to a theme pertaining to Ecuador (history, politics, geography, wildlife, spirituality, etc.) and share it with the group.  This is not meant to be burdensome but rather is intended to give participants the opportunity to deepen their understanding of Ecuador and thereby maximize their experience. There will be 6 meetings arranged according to the following schedule: 

Reading List
A short reading list will be provided at a later date.


Journaling
Daily journal writing will be an essential component of the program. A composite journal with volunteer submissions from all participants will be compiled and offered to all participants at the end of the experience as a memory of our shared experience.

Service and Leadership Opportunities

1. Community development: Meet community needs through meaningful involvement.
   
   
2. Issues education: Hands-on exploration of issues like indigenous rights and the environment.
   
   
3. Cultural education: Connect with local traditions through stories, food, song, and dance.
   
   
4. Wilderness Adventures: Experience Ecuador's unique ecosystem, one of the world's most bio-diverse.
   
   
5. Language Training: Develop and refine your Spanish skills and pick up some Quechua in the indigenous villages.
   
   
   

Travel dates 
July 27, 2010 until August 11, 2010

Sample Itinerary:  This itinerary is intended to highlight the types of activities will be doing and some of the locations we will be visiting.  You will receive an itinerary specific to your trip before you depart.     

Travel Arrangements

Transportation
Local transportation will be organized and provided by the Leaders Today lorry/bus.  International air travel will be provided by a reputable national carrier.
                                              
Accommodation
In Ecuador, the accommodations will be provided by the Free The Children/Me To We organization.  The adult supervisors will always reside in close proximity to the student residences.  Appropriate separation between genders will always be ensured in these residences.  The camp is also supervised by both Canadian and local employees of Me To We.

Participants will spend the majority of their time at innovative community-developed and community operated eco-tourism projects in the Andes mountains. These community developed projects have been frequented by Leaders Today and provide a sustainable source of income for the local community. Profits are often reinvested into the local school to provide vocational training, transport and lunch programs. These facilities are fully equipped with separate bunk bed accommodations for both males and females, a group meeting room and a dining hall. In Quito, participants will be hosted at friendly and secure hostels that Leaders Today facilitators have stayed at in the past. The cloud forest retreat offers truly world-class facilities in an award-winning example of community involvement and sustainability.

Environment

Ecuador is a country uniquely endowed with dramatic topography and a variety of climates, vegetation, birds and wildlife.  Ecuador’s landscape ranges from the tropical mangrove forests to the Galapagos Islands to the Amazon rainforest to the Andean mountains—in the landscape alone, Ecuador has something for everyone. Free The Children’s school building projects are located in the Chimborazo province, a rural area endowed with cultural history and breathtaking natural beauty.  Participants will travel extensively through the Andean mountains and the misty cloud forests, where rainforest like conditions are created in the mountains . Beautiful volcanoes, snow-topped peaks and biologically diverse forests provide a backdrop for the trip once the group leaves the bustling city of Quito. You will be able to see the incredible natural beauty alongside the environmental degradation such as deforestation that hinders the agricultural communities in the Andes.

Language
While Spanish is spoken by almost all Ecuadorians, the first language of the Puruhae people is Quechua. You will have an opportunity to improve your Spanish skills, learn some Quechua and possibly teach English. Your lead facilitator will be fluent in Spanish and therefore able to translate all community-led sessions and guided walks. This also means your lead facilitator will also be able to take care of all logistical and medical situations.

Food and Water

Finances
Participants will be charged a single fee of approximately $3795, which will cover return airfare from Toronto to Quito, all travel expenses within the country, meals, accommodations, training materials and donations to the local communities.

Payment will be made by regular installments according to the following schedule:
            $495                Deposit accompanying application
            $1,100             March 28, 2010
            $1,100             April 25, 2010
            $1,100             June 30, 2010
           
Note: Participants are asked to submit a series of postdated cheques according to this schedule. Cheques should be made payable to Adventure Learning Experiences Inc.

Fundraising

Fundraising activities will be supported by the authors.  In particular, the principal endeavour will be a booklet which will describe the features and participants of the program.  The sale of advertisements in the booklet will be directly subtracted from the fee charged to individual participants, with a nominal charge for the cost of printing the booklets. 

Refund Policy
For withdrawal before April  1st, a refund of $400 from the original deposit will be provided.

For withdrawal between June 1st, a full refund minus $200 will be provided.

Other Costs

The only other costs that are not included in the above price are the following:

            Passport (this must not expire within 6 months of departure)
            Ecuador Visa
            Out-of-country health insurance                     
            Flying Doctor Insurance                                 
            Inoculations (depending upon one’s private insurance coverage)
            Private expenses

Health and Safety
Careful attention to sound health and safety practices will be an important part in the preparation of the program.  This will involve mandatory immunizations, learning  healthy eating and drinking habits, and understanding effective illness prevention practices.  An attempt will be made to have a registered nurse accompany each group.  For maximum benefit it is recommended that participants, in general, be in good health and achieve a sufficient level of fitness prior to the trip.  Physical and dental check-ups are highly recommended prior to the departure date. 

Immunization

a)           The following are ordinarily administered through one’s family doctor in the course of                normal Ontario health care.  All participants are asked to ensure their protection with                inoculations against the following diseases:

               Tetanus – Diphtheria
               Polio
               Measles-Mumps-Rubella

b)            Protection against malaria is by tablet and is taken on a regular basis prior, during, and                following the trip.  The exact regimen will be prescribed by a travel clinic. 
               All participants will be expected to bring a mosquito net and protective skin lotions. 

c)            Inoculations against the following may be required: 

                        Tetanus
                        Typhoid
                        Meningococcal meningitis
                        Hepatitis A
                        Hepatitis B
                       

The cost of these inoculations are not covered by OHIP but may be included in private health plans. 

Precautions

As indicated above, careful preparation prior to departure about safe eating and drinking habits and illness prevention practices will be undertaken.  Participants will be expected to purchase “The Travel Doctor” by Dr. Mark Wise (Firefly Books, 2002) as part of this preparation.  A close working relationship has been developed by the authors with Dr. Mark Wise.  Dr. Wise is a family physician in Thornhill whose medical practice includes a travel clinic. He  is considered a leading authority in tropical and parasitic diseases.  Dr. Wise will conduct a 90 minute training workshop about preventative health practices for our students prior to departure and will make recommendations about appropriate inoculations.

It is expected that our groups will greatly benefit from the local contacts which the authors have established in Ecuador with Me To We in the event that medical care is required. Each participant will be expected to purchase out-of-country health insurance. In addition, each participant will be expected to purchase evacuation insurance, called Flying Doctor insurance, upon arrival in Ecuador at a cost of $50 US. This will guarantee emergency airline service from an airstrip near the Leadership centre to a leading  medical clinic in Quito. In addition, Dr. Lato and Mr. Rogers are both members of the International Association for Medical Assistance to Travelers (IAMAT). 

It is most strongly recommended that each participant seek proper medical advice for all potential health concerns at a travel health clinic prior to departure. 

It is advised that each participant complete the Consent to Medical Treatment Form in the event that urgent and emergency care is required.

• Meet community needs through meaningful involvement
• Hands-on exploration of issues like indigenous rights and the environment
• Experience Ecuador's unique ecosystem, one of the world's most bio-diverse
• Connect with local traditions through stories, food, song and dance