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GYC2706 - Riding with the disabled, Amen Foundation Country: Ecuador Cost: £2700.00 Please note: £2700 for three months. Each additional month is £475. The price also includes unlimited health, public liability and baggage insurance, Spanish CD course, an excellent two-week Spanish course with one-to-one tuition, local transport, full weekend trip, comprehensive in-country support, membership of South America Explorers Club, thorough UK and Ecuador briefing, teacher training course, fundraising advice. All volunteers are individually met and briefed in the UK. Cost Includes: The price includes insurance, accommodation, food, pickup from airport and visas but does not include flight or kit       Duration: 3 months Company Rep Nearby: Weekly 0845 344 7588 or

 

	This placement would suit... People keen to work with disabled children in an equestrian environment. Horse riding can provide incredible stimulation for the disabled. If you have good riding skills and a desire to support disabled children from the poorest of backgrounds you would thrive at the Amen project. This is the only one of its kind in Ecuador. The project is located in the Cumbaya area on the southern edge of Quito, overlooking Cotopaxi. It is in a beautiful, open valley with wonderful riding and walking opportunities. Amen was founded in 1989 as an equestrian centre. Up to 30 disabled children attend riding lessons every morning. Some are severely disabled and need complete support and guidance, others are more independent. Through a relationship with horses and the pleasure of riding, many of the disabilities are improved over a short period of time. In addition to riding, the children are given other forms of therapies such as physiotherapy and reiki. They are from poor backgrounds and are not charged for any of this. Afternoons are for able-bodied riders - mostly children - who pay for personal riding tuition. The payments are used to support the centre and the activities in the morning. Volunteer activities You are needed to help children every morning with their riding. This is very basic and two volunteers normally work with one disabled child in a purpose-built arena. There are normally queues of people waiting for assistance so you would be busy! The idea is not so much about teaching the children to ride but more about the relationship that can be established between them and the horses. This relationship and the stimulation of being on a wonderful animal can be extremely beneficial to the children. Positive results can often be noticed within a few weeks. You do not have to be a good rider to help in the mornings. However it is important to be sympathetic towards the needs of the disabled and to have an understanding of horses. Volunteers with good riding skills would be asked to give lessons to experienced young people in the afternoons. You would also be able to take small groups on rides in the surrounding valleys. There are 20 beautiful horses at Amen. Everybody, including Heidi, the Swiss director help with cleaning the stables, feeding, watering, washing and caring for them. Ecuadorian volunteers from privileged backgrounds help out twice a week. This project could not run without a small, permanent team of volunteers. Your help is needed! Time off and accommodation For good riders there are plenty of opportunities to take horses out and ride independently. Accommodation is in a private house with up to six other international volunteers. It is comfortable, airy and spacious but you may be expected to share a room. You would cook communally and Outreach International would provide you with an allowance for food. Due to its proximity to Quito you could easily see other volunteers at weekends (which you would have free) and join in with weekend trips and expeditions. There is a bus to the city centre which would take about 45 minutes. Like all Outreach volunteers you would be registered members of the South American Explorer Club and have full access to its facilities in Quito. 0845 344 7588 Outreach International: if you're thinking of participating in volunteer work abroad, we are a specialist organisation that places committed volunteers in carefully selected meaningful projects. We have a wide variety of opportunities but all of them are small, worthwhile, grassroots initiatives working with communities where volunteer work abroad can make a big difference. They are all regularly visited by the Outreach director. Every volunteer is personally met and briefed about their selected project. Outreach International have a clear mission statement and operate a carbon neutral programme.