Teach in a rural school in the Andes

This gap year project is set in the heart of the Ecuadorian Andes in the northern part of Ecuador, in subtropical cloud forest 2000m above sea level. As a gap year volunteer you will teach in a rural primary school located in a very small village to the west of the indigenous village of Otavalo.

GapGuru is working in government schools which receive very little funding and the pupils have little or no knowledge of English.

Your role: This gap year placement in Ecuador will take you to a small rural primary school with children aged between 5-12 years. Mornings at school are spent teaching English. There are several other development opportunities; you could for example run a program in English at the local radio station.

A basic knowledge of Spanish is essential as very little English is spoken in the rural areas. For those with no previous knowledge of Spanish or those wanting to brush up on the language we can organise classes in Quito before you start your placement. This will help you to integrate fully into the local community.

This Gap year teaching programme in Ecuador, requires you to commit a minimum of 3 months as a volunteer. Like all our projects there is a minimum age requirement of 18. Gap year volunteers need to have good communication skills, an open mind; lots of enthusiasm and a good sense of humour! Our philosophy is to encourage the students to learn by having fun in the lessons

Before leaving you can take a TEFL week end with us in order to build your teaching confidence and to provide you with some tools to make your lessons more effective.

What you gain: Contributing to a relatively poor community is very satisfying; you will gain enormously by appreciating the simplicity of rural life and values of the people here. As you will be immersed in the community, your knowledge of Spanish will improve dramatically in a very short time.

Accommodation: Your accommodation and food are provided with a carefully selected host family who live a short walk from the school. Volunteer accommodation is normally shared with another volunteer in the same area, if you would like to have independent accommodation please discuss while booking your gap year programme.