My Experience on a Service Trip to Ecuador

I stepped off the plane into the warm summer air of November. This was Ecuador, a country on the equator where there is only summer (the wet season) and winter (the dry season). We (and by we I mean me and the 15 or so other students from my school who decided to participate in this 10 day experience) landed in Quito, the capital. The first day was spent exploring the capital and going to the equator line. We were literally stepping on the equator, and if one foot was on the left and the other on the right, that meant that half of you was in the Northern Hemisphere and half in the Southern Hemisphere. Pretty cool to think of! 

After the first day, we travelled by bus up into the Andes mountains. Up in the mountains the oxygen is thinner and the air is cooler. I liked it up there. We all stayed in a small cabin in the mountains, but during the day we drove to an even higher altitude.

In the Andes, our mission was to build the foundation of a community’s school. On our first day, we went to the building site of the school. It was a really pretty and peaceful area just off the side of the mountain.

We were taught how everything worked and what to do and off we went. I began by helping build long, hollow metal square shaped tubes that helped to secure the walls of the school. The work was not easy; the metal was sharp and hard, but we had to cut it and place the rods together and tie them with wire. At the end of the day, we returned to the cabin all sweaty and tired; it had been a productive day. We continued this work for four days and made serious progress. We knew that we had made a huge contribution to the community and given the local workers a break. Before we left, we had the chance to meet some of the local youth.

A couple of hundred meters away from our building site was a small school for young kids, around the ages of four to five. We went over to a small grass field just outside their classroom and guess what? They had prepared a performance for us!

After the performance, we got to play games with them such as tag and soccer. It was incredible to see the pure joy on their faces when they were with us and even though they were so young, I could tell they were grateful for the work we had done and the time we spent with them. Now, after our amazing time up in the mountains, it was time to go all the way down to the rainforest.

After taking nearly a day to travel by bus, we made it to the Amazon, the world’s largest tropical rainforest. We spent three days there and worked on a water treatment plant for a local community. In these small, local communities, clean filtered water is not easy to access. We had the chance to speak with a local man who collects rainwater and has a water filtration system set up for his family. He talked about his story and the reason he had built his system: his daughter had passed away from water contamination a few years ago. Where we were working, there was already a large tower set up, but there was still a lot of work that needed to be done.

We had various jobs, but one of the tasks I spent my days doing was moving big rocks from under the tower to the side of the road. This way others could work the soil and eventually pipes could run to the tower and provide clean water.

It was very hot and humid— a challenge for all our bodies— but we managed well. In the Amazon, we also got to meet children from a local school and play with them. 

Our trip came to an end and it was time to fly back home. I was quite sad to be leaving as this had been an incredible experience that I will remember for the rest of my life. I learned to always be grateful and happy for the opportunities I have. After seeing the joy of all the locals, even while living in an underdeveloped country with fewer opportunities, I realized that we all needed to appreciate the little things more and take time to be happy. I encourage everyone to volunteer, even just locally, as it will bring you so much joy, show you the beauties of the world and of life, and to remember to never take anything for granted. And if you ever have the chance, never pass up on the opportunity to go on a service trip!