The Village Education Project — Volunteer in South America, Support Access to Free Education

The Village Education Project provides a comprehensive education program in Ecuador’s rural highlands, and offers leadership opportunities to young volunteers that empower them to pursue public service.

Our Work in Ecuador

In Ecuador, our program has three main components:

1. Sponsorship: Because high school costs nearly $200 per year, an impossible rate for most rural families, we pay the full costs of secondary education in the villages where we work. We sponsor entire communities rather than individual students to make sure that education becomes an integrated part of village life, and to ensure that students entering high school will have support from friends in their community.

2. Support: We send our students to school prepared. Each year, we offer a summer program taught by volunteer teachers to bring our students up to grade-level. The curriculum, designed by Ecuadorian educators, U.S. Education Professors and U.S. education students, is meant to condense the essentials of what every students must know into ten short weeks. During the school year, we offer tutoring sessions, an education center with computers and free internet where students can study and do their homework, and frequent meetings with the communities to keep parents informed and involved.

3. Sustainability: Currently, no secondary school exists in the rural highlands; we hope to create one that will give our students an excellent secondary education, tailored to our students’ needs and surroundings.

The Volunteer Program

Volunteers with The Village Education Project teach a rigorous curriculum focused on Math and English to ensure that our students are prepared to attend high school. Their efforts have high stakes: every student that passes the program—indicating that s/he has the skills necessary to succeed in secondary school—will be given a full scholarship to attend. Working with our Ecuadorian staff gives volunteers opportunities not only in teaching and in Spanish immersion, but in how an international development organization is run abroad.

Once volunteers complete the program, they have the opportunity to join or support our staff, and to engage in discussions on improving the program. Whatever their level of involvement when the program ends, our goal is that every volunteer will have a lifelong stake not only in our project, but in the greater cause it represents—equal educational opportunity for children worldwide. To volunteer, please click the Volunteer tab above.

Leadership Opportunities

The Village Education Project is a team effort. While on the ground, Ecuadorian educators lead the project, a staff of students works to fundraise, recruit volunteers, garner publicity, and generate ideas for improving and expanding our work. Most of our staff consists of volunteers who work for us pro bono; of the over 25 people who currently work on the project, only two of them receive a salary. Working with The Village Education Project is therefore a unique opportunity to help manage a non-profit organization while still a student, or while pursuing other career paths. For information on how to get involved, please click the Join Us tab above.