The program aims to help improve the level of teaching in rural schools to equal that of education in urban areas. The project looks to expand restrictive teaching methods focused purely on flawed textbooks to involve creative learning, lateral thinking, and encourage communication. Through the Great Aves mission to advance education, the program does this through teaching and learning, focusing on the English language, and computing, with with summer schools involving music, art and sport.

Just over 50 years ago the Arajuno Road was primary rainforest inhabited by Kichwa, Shuar and Wayurani tribes living in the way they had become accustomed to for the past 500 years. With the discovery of oil a refinery was built by Shell Oil in what is now Arajuno, and drilling and extraction of oil took place from 1954 to 1964 and the road was built. After Shell left, there was little development of the area until the late-nineties, where AGIP oil (a division of ENI) established a refinery on the Arajuno road, and in the jungle town of Villano. The restoration of the road and the wealth that came with oil, drew the scattered tribes to form close-knit communities along the road. This brought the local people into the capitalist world and away from their traditional ways of life, with the increasing regulation from governing offices and a desire for material possessions leaving the communities split between the old ways and the new. Over the last 20 years many aid organizations and charities have established projects in Amazonian Ecuador, with the vast majority failing to make an impact and achieve their goals. We believe that this is due to either lack of supervision, with large funds donated to people not used to working with finance and who are given no support, or on-location projects which attain to achieve western goals without creating the infrastructure to make them sustainable (i.e reforestation and conservation of jungle without providing alternative income to logging and destructive farming practices, and education as to why rainforests need to be conserved). Infrastructure in Ecuador as a whole is poor, though rapidly improving, especially on major routes. Lack of access and communication has meant that rural communities have become isolated from contemporary Ecuador, with token donations to the communities becoming the norm. Schools are often provided with the bare minimum required to educate and not always that. Some schools have one teacher teaching 7 grades of students, with only a small provision of materials and equipment. Schools are frequently closed without notice or finish early.

We work to our strengths and as a result focus our teaching on the English language, making lessons as creative and interactive as possible. The importance of speaking English is essential in an area which has tourism as a key growth market and a global economy where speaking English is vital. Great Aves has written the English curriculum for the district for grades 1 to 7 which is recognized by the Ministry of Education. Classes focus on lateral thinking and activities to help students internalize and enjoy the language, with a mixture of speaking, listening, written and thinking tasks being used. As part of the curriculum the teaching program is introducing a standardized assessment for the district in which it works, to monitor development on an individual and school level. The project provides essential materials required for learning to teachers of participating schools throughout the school year. These materials include board markers, paper, pens and pencils.

In addition to this the project provides frequent donations of school equipment such as books, text books and sports equipment, and provided a cook to make school meals in the 2009/10 school year at one school. During the school holidays the project provides a summer school at various schools across the district, with activities focusing on problem solving and lateral thinking activities and games, art, music, and sport, in addition to English classes. In the evening once a week throughout the year, the program also provides English classes to college students and adults.

The project works with 10 of the 11 schools between the provincial town of Puyo and Km40 of the Arajuno Road. Volunteers normally work in 2 schools, each twice a week. In Ecuador, schools terms are from January to the end of June and from September until the middle of December. Lessons are between 8am and 12.30pm Monday-Friday and volunteers assist teachers or take classes for 2 and a half - 3 hours each day. One day a week is used to engage in activities outside the school and research special events for lessons. Each afternoon volunteers spend time in teams planning the following days lessons. Volunteers work with our coordinators to plan lessons that form part of a structured curriculum, giving volunteers clear guidance and support. In addition to academic activities, volunteers teach sports, art and music. The lessons are focused on interaction with the children, aiming to promote learning by doing. Our lessons are visual based and fun, meaning that you can get involved even with limited Spanish. Volunteers are supported by our long-term volunteers, fluent in Spanish and familiar with the children and teachers of a particular school.

In July and August the Arajuno Road Project runs a summer school. During the summer holidays many of the children are left with little to occupy them, the summer school is designed to give them more creative freedom than they have during term time. The Arajuno Road summer school placement is focused on sport, art and music, and volunteers have the opportunity to put their own ideas into action.

Set amongst stunning scenery the Arajuno road weaves its way through the outer Amazon, frequently offering cliff-top views over the miles and miles of virtually untouched rainforest. The teaching and community projects are both located at the YouVolunteer house on the Arajuno Road, Ecuador.

In between the towns of Arajuno and Puyo are scattered communities of farmers and lumberjacks, the small hamlet of 10 de Agosto and the halfway town of El Triunfo. Aside from the games of volleyball and the frequent fiestas, the towns and communities are yet to yield to the commodification of modern Ecuador. The volunteers live in a communal house on the Arajuno Road. The house provides a spacious dorm room, two twin rooms, a kitchen with fresh drinking water, living area, working area and two bathrooms with hot showers. Bedding is also provided, and there is internet and emergency telephone access. The house is currently generator run whilst electricity is being installed. Food costs are included and volunteers take turns to prepare evening meals. The volunteer house provides social environment and will give volunteers the chance to relax and unwind as well as getting to know volunteers from other schools and what is going on in the different communities. The project runs until Saturday morning, although the house is available for use at the weekend. If volunteers wish to stay at weekend they will need to provide their own food. Many volunteers choose to go to nearby Puyo or Banos. The house is situated at the bottom of a steep hill and all of the schools are accessed by an energetic 20 minute walk up the hill and then by foot or by bus (though the project car is often used). Emergency services are located between 10 and 20 minutes from the house. The house has 2 cats and 2 friendly guard dogs. The house is in the rainforest, so be prepared to get wet and muddy during the rainy season. The house is fairly free of insects although expect to see a few.

You can stay from a minimum of 2 weeks to a maxzimum of 12 weeks

Price - US$105 a week
Includes Pick-up from Puyo to project, Food, High-quality accommodation (drinking water from the tap, hot showers, comfortable beds, modern cooking equipment and kitchen, bedding, evening activities and movies), Coordinator support, pre and post-project support, project related equipment.
Requirements - none.

If you wish to stay longer than 4 weeks it would be a plaus if you have knowledge of Intermediate Spanish.

A meet and greet service from Quito Airport, including meals, 1 night accommodation and transfer to project is available on request (US$75) otherwise volunteers need to make their way to Puyo (US$6 to Mariscal District in a taxi, US$6 in a taxi to Quito bus terminal from the Mariscal district in Quito, bus to Puyo, 5 hours from Quito US$5). Volunteers are met at 3pm each Monday at the Puyo bus terminal by our coordinator and taken to the project. Spanish lessons in Quito are available on request for US$160 per week or US$300 including food and accommodation.

Projects finish on a Saturday, with volunteers taken to the bus stop on the Arajuno Road. We ask volunteers to fill out a feedback form with a testimony which we make available upon request. Volunteers have the opportunity to sign up for our monthly project newsletter, twitter blog or facebook page to keep informed about project developments.