Service Ambassadors: Building Hope while Experiencing the Real Ecuador

In 2011 – 2012, join a service volunteer program, visit exotic Ecuador, and become an instrument of change

Program Highlights:

• Spend 9 days with the indigenous Shuar community as you work together to construct a much needed Cultural and Community Center in their village

• Your team will build a Community Center that contains a classroom/workshop area, museum, and visitor’s center/market: all intended to aid the Shuar people in their sustainable development program

• Participate in talks given by local organizations to better understand the Shuar people and the challenges they face

• Join in cultural activities including dancing, performances from the local community, and making traditional hand-crafted goods, among other cultural exchange activities.

• Visit some of unforgettable sights in Ecuador including a white water rafting adventure in Baños de Agua Santa.

Faculty, Service Organizations, Youth: Apply now to join Friendship Ambassadors Foundation’s all-inclusive program with visits planned throughout 2011 - 2012. Pre-formed high school or university level groups and individuals are invited to apply with your available dates. Volunteers will travel in groups of twenty throughout the coming year. You bring the enthusiasm and desire to effect change, and we will take care of all the logistics. Join FAF in this service opportunity: see Ecuador as few people get to see it, while making a positive impact on a local community. Form lifetime relationships with like-minded young people and maybe even some Shuar! 

To download the application form and recommendation letter, CLICK HERE

Completed forms should be emailed to: serviceambassadors@faf.org

For more information about this program, please contact us at Serviceambassadors@faf.org or 1-800-526-2008.

Return completed applications to: serviceambassadors@faf.org 

For a free, grassroots fundraising guide, visit: www.faf.org/unyouthassembly/download/Fundraising_Guide.pdf

Friendship Ambassadors Foundation has been invited to build a community center in the central Ecuadorian rain forest, for the indigenous Shuar people. The project is to take place in Fall 2011 through Summer 2012. FAF has long been recognized for promoting peace building through cultural exchange. In the past decade, the foundation has come to the belief that peace comes through development and has added sustainability interests to its annual project campaigns.

In the past year, the foundation 1) partnered with other NGOs to build shelters for the homeless outside of San Jose, Costa Rica, 2) led the Women, Water, and Food Security Conference in Calcutta, and 3) was selected by the United Nations Department of Public Information as Treasurer for its upcoming Sustainable Cities: Responsive Citizens conference in Bonn, Germany in September 2011.

In July 2011, FAF will begin a new project for development in the quiet, rainforest village of Limon Indanza, Ecuador that will also feature people-to-people cultural exchange. For any service organization or youth leader looking to promote UN MDG #8, this is a special opportunity, not to be missed. For the community, it is certainly the opportunity of a lifetime.

From Fall 2011 throughout Summer 2012, a select number of youth organizations and individual volunteers will have the chance to live and work in an indigenous community in Ecuador, helping families construct a much needed cultural center intended to aid the growth of cultural exchange between the Shuar people and outside communities. The new cultural center will include a small museum, classroom, and visitors center. It will be built from the ground up and assist the Shuar in using their increased tourist trade in a sustainable, locally owned and managed way. This project will help the Shuar help themselves, bringing hope to a region where every volunteer’s involvement could have positive effects for decades to come.

This all inclusive programme offers young adults, ages 18-23, the opportunity to immerse themselves in the Shuar culture, learn about their society and way of life, participate in a variety of regional, traditional activities, share meals with home-stay families, and most importantly, work on the construction within the community itself. This project is developed and directed by Friendship Ambassadors Foundation, which has a thirty-six year history for promoting sustainable development through service and cultural exchange. Foundation staff will prepare every aspect of the service and cultural exchange project, permitting participants to focus solely on preparing themselves for the trip and immersing themselves when in-country. This allows the project to find success and the participants to form lasting relationships and unforgettable memories.