We are committed to projects that have a positive impact on society EVOMOTIV particularly close to our hearts. With our help for KulturLife We were able to give Yuna and other young people the chance to experience new cultures through their volunteer service, expand their boundaries and at the same time support valuable local projects.
Yuna spent a year in an indigenous Shuar community in the Ecuadorian Amazon and gave us an insight into her experiences. Her story impressively shows how volunteering not only strengthens local communities, but also shapes the lives of the volunteers themselves. You can find out more about this in Yuna's article:
A Year in Ecuador
My name is Yuna, and after graduating from high school in the summer of 2023, I did a one-year volunteer service in Ecuador, which I would like to tell you about here.
organization and tasks
My volunteer service was organized by the German organization KulturLife and the Ecuadorian organization Fundación Proyecto Ecológico Chiriboga. I lived in the Amazon region of southeast Ecuador in an indigenous Shuar community. My tasks were to teach English at the local school and to support the community and my host family with their projects. These included maintaining vegetable gardens, growing, harvesting and processing organic corn, and construction work on the project site. The aim of these activities was to promote sustainable sources of income such as organic farming and ecotourism.
life in nature
During my volunteer service, I particularly enjoyed life in nature. I lived in a bamboo hut, of which there were several on the project site with different functions, so you were always outside. Instead of running water, we had the river nearby, and electricity and WiFi were only available at the school. This allowed me to experience the beautiful vegetation of the jungle more intensively. Of course, it is not always fun to wash dishes in the river when it is raining or to wash clothes by hand, for example. The simpler, somewhat more isolated and monotonous way of life also had its advantages and disadvantages for me. It taught me what I personally need in life to be happy and to appreciate some of the luxuries in Germany more.
Working with children and the community
The most joy I got from working with the children and teachers at the school was seeing that they enjoyed my lessons and got something out of them. What I particularly enjoyed about working with the community was learning more about the lives of different families and understanding them better.
travel and cultural impressions
Over the course of the year, I often traveled to different regions of Ecuador, such as the mountains and the Galapagos Islands. I was impressed by the country's diverse landscape and culture. What struck me everywhere, however, was the openness, friendliness and generosity of the Ecuadorians I got to know. I was also inspired by the fact that most of them had a very positive mentality and were eager to face the future, even though their situation and that of the country were not always easy.
Self-reflection and personal development
I feel like I have not only gotten to know a new culture, but also myself better. Before volunteering, I thought I wouldn't be able to learn much about myself. But as soon as you leave your usual environment, you overcome boundaries that you didn't know existed. I only realized after I returned that it was easier for me to discover new sides of myself and change in Ecuador because no one had expectations of who I was.
Thanks and Outlook
Therefore, I hope that many more people will do volunteer work in the future, especially in the project that I have learned to love and that could not continue to exist in this form without the volunteers.
At this point I would like to thank EVOMOTIV for the donation to the volunteer services of my organization KulturLife. Without these donations, fewer volunteers would be sent out every year.
