The Project
South American Explorer

Rainforest Expedition in the Ecuadorian Amazon - The Amazon rainforest is one of the planet’s most diverse ecosystems, being the home to 30% of all known plant and animal species, as well as a variety of indigenous cultures and settlers who make their living in this seemingly inhospitable terrain. Joining this GVI Amazon adventure takes will take you into the heart of this lush and remote part of the world to help protect the precious rainforest and aid community development initiatives. Expedition members support wildlife conservation by conducting research and scientific investigation work, and work on community projects, including facilitating the learning of English as a foreign language. In addition, the project runs a number of exciting adventure side trips that give expedition members the chance to further explore and experience this thrilling part of Ecuador.

GVI is making a difference in Ecuador’s Amazon by supporting the Yachana Foundation and local efforts to preserve the rainforest and its extraordinary diversity of plants and animals. These efforts include promoting sustainable economic and agricultural alternatives for its inhabitants, many of whom are from poor, indigenous communities. Expedition members have been compiling valuable species lists of animal life found within Yachana's private land reserve. This has resulted in the discovery of a rare species of glass frog, which further strengthens the documented conservation value of the area.

Volunteer work with children in Ecuador - This volunteer work based in Ecuador offers volunteers the fantastic opportunity to work with children, learn Spanish, live with a local family in the beautiful market town Otavalo, experience indigenous Andean culture, travel to nearby rural mountains for project work, and explore the stunning Ecuadorian area.

GVI, along with leaders of the indigenous communities, are developing educational programmes to assist children and adults who otherwise would not have the opportunity to receive a formal education or who need educational reinforcement. Volunteers have the option to take their own class, or assist other volunteers and the local teacher until they feel they can take their own class.

With just one or two teachers per school, the volunteers’ teaching presence allows the children more opportunity to receive help in their education. GVI Secondary School scholarships allow the children to follow on into Secondary which was not possible before. A substantial part of the fee goes towards the day-to-day running costs of the projects themselves throughout the year, including daily transport, food subsidies for the school meals and fruit for the children (sometimes their only meal of the day), educational materials for classes, monthly birthday celebrations, painting and maintenance.

Volunteer in Peru - Volunteering in Peru will see you teaching children in the ‘pueblos jovenes’ or ‘young towns’ that surround the beautiful colonial city of Arequipa, nestled in south-western Peru into a stunning region in which the desert meets the foothills of the Peruvian Andes. This project runs in conjunction with leaders and teachers of the communities, to assist educational reinforcement programmes. As well as running ‘aulas abiertas’ (open classrooms), volunteer work in Peru also assists the understaffed schools of the region.

As with our similar projects in Latin America, our aims are first and foremost in education, and pay particular focus on literacy and educational reinforcement for the children of each community. Global Vision International, with the full support of the leaders of the communities and the schools, aims to tackle these issues. As GVI’s volunteers actually do the teaching alongside the local teachers and on their own, we can group the children by age and grade, to pay closer attention to the children and the required subjects, and identify those children who require further help. Coupled with paying for the school supplies, it is hoped that more children will attend and will receive the attention needed for their standard of education to improve.