December 2012
Brian Bins
Position
Overall Rating:
I'd never done any type of long-term volunteering like this before, so I have nothing to compare this experience with. I can say quite certainly that it as an experience unlike any I have ever had, and not a day goes by where I don't think about being back in Ecuador romping around the courtyard of CENIT. The only reason why I wouldn't give it five stars was because my Spanish-speaking abilities were less than ideal, and for this, bouts of frustration were regular in occurrence.
Did you feel like you made a difference?:
I do - while my dental program had it's highs and lows, at the end of my time there, we had found a way to get scores of kids into clinics to receive care. Furthermore, the culture seems to have shifted since I've left, with a higher priority on oral health for the kids of CENIT.
Organization and communication:
Fair - everyone is quite busy at CENIT, and it can seem like things get chaotic from time to time, and they do. But I also feel that my intermediate-level Spanish was making things much more confusing than they really ought to have been. If your Spanish is good, this shouldn't be much of an issue
Accommodation:
CENIT placed me with a family that lived about 1.5 km from CENIT, which I thought was a good deal at first. I then found out that my family was charging me much more for rent than many of the other volunteers were paying. I ended up moving in with another family 2 months later, whom I found on my own. If you want CENIT to help you find a place to live, ask for options, because they have multiple families that they work with. Otherwise, the majority of the volunteers live in hostels, which offer more independence and are usually cheaper.
Safety:
The neighborhood can be dangerous - this is not a nice part of town. That being said, there was only 1 true incident that I experienced in CENIT's neighborhood where I was confronted by somebody - I was alone, and I just ran away (he didn't follow). If you talk to the girls or other volunteers, they'll let you know where not to go.