Homeless Shelter Support Volunteering in Ecuador - Quito

The IVHQ Ecuador volunteer program has volunteer placements located in Ecuador’s capital city of Quito and surrounding urban and rural areas, approximately 45 minutes out of the city. Nestled high in the Andes, Quito is considered by many to be one of the most beautiful cities in South America. Despite this aesthetic beauty, there is a great need for volunteers to assist with the development of this city and its communities.

Volunteer programs begin every Monday. Volunteers can choose to volunteer for periods ranging from 1 week to 12 weeks.

The program orientation begins every Monday and volunteers need to arrive in Quito on the day before orientation.

After you have registered for the program, please book your flights to arrive at the Mariscal Sucre International Airport (UIO) in Quito. Your airport pick-up is included in your Program Fee. We recommend that volunteers under the age of 18 travel internationally with a notarized letter from their parents to support their documentation.

When you arrive, you will be greeted at the airport by a member of the local team and transported to the volunteer accommodation in Quito. Your accommodation is covered by your Program Fee and includes the night before your program orientation.

If you are traveling in Ecuador prior to your volunteer program, we can arrange for you to be picked up in Quito on the day before your program orientation.

Orientation is hosted by our local team at their volunteer offices in Quito. Orientation begins in the afternoon of your chosen start date and covers everything you need to know for your volunteer program in Ecuador – Introduction to Ecuador, Ecuadorian Customs, Language Training Details, Rules and Expectations, Safety, Travel Opportunities in Ecuador, Introduction to your Project and Placement. The orientation will also give you a chance to meet other volunteers and swap contact details for weekend travel and socializing.

Weekdays: While our programs are flexible and can be fitted to your requirements, an example of a typical day is as follows. Please note that volunteering on the Ecuador program is held Tuesday through Friday (expect to participate for full days, unless you’re also taking Spanish language lessons, in which case you’d volunteer for half days). Therefore the weekends on the program are Saturday through Monday.

7.30AM Breakfast at the volunteer house or homestay.

8.00AM Volunteers leave home and travel to their placements. Work and hours are dependent on the project and placement that each volunteer is working at. There is a break for lunch and volunteers are responsible for the purchase of this meal.

2.00PM - 5.00PM Work at the placement usually ends. Volunteers are free to travel home, prepare for the next day, or do some shopping and sightseeing. If volunteers are taking Spanish language lessons, these will usually take place in the afternoons and last between 2 and 3 hours.

7.30PM Dinner at the volunteer house or homestay.

Evenings: To ensure the safety of our volunteers and respect of others in the volunteer​ ​​accommodation, a curfew of 1​0:30​ PM has been put in place​ from Monday to Thursday and a 1:30 AM curfew for Friday to Sunday. Volunteers under the age of 18 will have a curfew of 8pm.

Please note, this schedule will vary depending on the project the volunteer is participating on. If a volunteer is taking Spanish language lessons, they will usually volunteer for half the day and spend the other half (3 to 4 hours) taking Spanish language lessons.

Volunteers on the Ecuador program can also join social clubs arranged by the local staff. The social clubs give volunteers the opportunity to meet volunteers from other projects and share in their experiences on the program. Club activities include free conversational Spanish groups, Ecuadorian movie nights and salsa lessons! All of the club activities are held in the afternoon, after volunteers have finished at their placement, and range in cost from $3 - $5.

Volunteers are accommodated alongside other volunteers in either a volunteer house or homestay. Bedrooms can be comprised of single beds, bunk beds or a double bed and you can expect to share a room with one or two other volunteers. Living is comfortable and the volunteer house and homestays have electricity, running water and western bathrooms. To ensure the safety of our volunteers and respect of others in the volunteer​ ​​accommodation, a curfew of 1​0:30​ PM has been put in place​ from Monday to Thursday and a 1:30 AM curfew for Friday to Sunday.

WiFi is available at the volunteer house and in some homestays. You can also access WiFi at the local team’s office, or purchase a local SIM card with data for an unlocked mobile phone when you arrive in Ecuador.

Volunteers are provided with breakfast and dinner, 7 days per week while on the Ecuador volunteer program. Breakfast generally consists of tea or coffee, cereals, local breads, condiments, and fruits and cheese. Dinners will be a mixture of traditional Ecuadorian meals (meat or vegetarian stews, rice, vegetables or potatoes) and western meals. Carbohydrates, such as potatoes, bananas, plantains, bread and rice are common ingredients for Ecuadorian dishes. If you have any special dietary requirements, please let us know when you apply for the program so we can make arrangements for you. However, we need to stress the point that you should not expect to eat as you normally do at home. We will do our best to see that you are well taken care of, but as a volunteer, there is a need to be flexible.

“I love the city, the volunteer house, and most of all the street children market program. It is a bit unnerving, as this is my first time out of my own country, and Quito is relatively huge compared to where I´m from. But it´s exactly the kind of learning experience I wanted to have. Also, it helps that the local staff are so accommodating; I honestly feel I could go to them with any problems I might have.” - Lisa Waters (Street Children Work Volunteer in Ecuador)

Read more reviews from IVHQ volunteers in Ecuador here

During the weekends (Saturday through Monday), volunteers have spare time and usually just relax or take the opportunity to explore other parts of Quito and Ecuador. Long weekends can be taken to travel further afield to explore the amazing national parks of Ecuador or Galapagos Islands. If you are interested in art, culture and history, you can check out Quito’s historical center, where you can learn about Quito’s history, legends and Pre-Columbian cultures. From the city’s historical center, you can take the El Teleferico (cable car) for beautiful views of the city and surrounding volcanoes. Horseback riding and hiking is available to the Guagua Pichincha volcano summit. You can visit the coastal region of Salango for snorkelling, Silver Island, and the beautiful beaches of Los Frailes. Jungle excursions can also be arranged to experience the nature and unique wildlife such as toucans, parrots, and monkeys.

See our Ecuador Travel and Tours page for more volunteer travel options in Ecuador!

Weather and climate: The climate of Ecuador is composed of a number of microclimates that separate into four distinct zones. La Costa (Coastal Lowlands) is tropical, La Sierra (Andean Mountains) is temperate; and El Oriente (Amazon Region) shares the jungle climate of the upper Amazon rain forest.

Volunteers who are under 18 years old will be required to provide IVHQ with parental consent and two character reference letters in order to participate on the program, and may be asked to provide additional documentation to the local team. Independent volunteers under the age of 18 must provide the local team with a “good health” letter from their doctor or a certificate of health during program orientation. All volunteers are required to have adequate volunteer travel insurance and provide a criminal background check to IVHQ’s local team on arrival in Ecuador. Additional requirements apply for School Support volunteers, please review the project description above. Please note that a reasonable level of fitness and mobility is required for all projects. If you have any health concerns that may be affected by altitude, we recommend that you discuss these with a medical professional prior to travel.

Fluency in Spanish is not a prerequisite for the IVHQ Ecuador volunteer program, however on certain volunteer projects, such as Teaching English, Administration Support and School Support, volunteer work will be restricted with limited language ability. We recommend that volunteers take advantage of the very affordable language lessons offered exclusively to IVHQ volunteers by our partner staff in Ecuador. Past volunteers feel that taking these lessons help immensely with day-to-day volunteer work and communicating with local people. Volunteers interested in taking Spanish lessons can arrange these directly with the local staff once in Ecuador.

Free Interactive Volunteer Training - All volunteers are encouraged to complete our interactive pre-departure training, which is available exclusively to registered IVHQ volunteers. The training is designed to build an understanding of important aspects that need to be considered before embarking on an IVHQ program. It helps volunteers to prepare in the right way by providing advice on what it takes to be a safe, responsible and valuable volunteer. Try a sample of the training here.

Spanish language lessons are available for all volunteers regardless of their ability. IVHQ strongly recommends these for all volunteers unless they are fluent in Spanish. Volunteers with a basic level of Spanish should strongly consider these lessons to allow them to work and communicate more effectively during their program. These language lessons are organized upon your arrival in Ecuador during your program orientation. The language lessons are tailored to each volunteer’s current level of Spanish and must be paid for in Ecuador to our local staff. The cost is very affordable and offered exclusively to IVHQ volunteers.

• 12 hours/6 days = US$84 (or 3 days intensive)
• 20 hours/10 days = US$130 (or 5 days intensive)
• 30 hours/15 days = US$195 (or 8 days intensive)
• 40 hours/10 days intensive = US$250
• 60 hours/15 days intensive = US$375
• 80 hours/20 days intensive = US$480