Ecuador

ECUADOR

Ecudador

ECUADOR 2024

Anticipated Trip Cost: $TBD
Anticipated Dates: 

Ecuador: June 22 – July 6, 2024 

Southern Utah Team: June 8 – June 22, 2024 (Monthly Team Meetings will be held in SU)


REGISTER FOR ECUADOR

Leadership Development

  • 9-month leadership development program with integrated local service component
  • Youthlinc’s mission is to transform volunteers into lifetime humanitarians, which takes time and effort- we are not a “pay-and-go” program
  • Twenty five years of proven curriculum and data show that our program truly changes and improves our volunteers & communities abroad
  • Connect and build friendships with your team for 9 months prior to travel

Projects

  • Work with Nukari Foundation, an Ecuadorian nonprofit, to make a lasting impact in rural villages near Guamote
  • Projects relate to community health, business & vocational skills, ecological improvements, construction, cultural exchange, and education

What's Included?

  • We are a Utah-based program. Round-trip international airfare is included from Salt Lake City. Minors will never be asked to fly alone to another city to meet their team for the first time.
  • All meals, accommodation, transportation, & clean water
  • Excursions to Banos & the Amazon rainforest, Cotopaxi Volcano, Chimborazo Volcano, and the Black Sand Dunes
  • Travel insurance, medical professional travels with team, 1:3 ratio of adults:students

GUAMOTE, ECUADOR

The Youthlinc Service Year will begin sending groups to Ecuador in the summer of 2024.  Through a US State Department program called Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI), Youthlinc was connected to Norma Morena, who is the founder of Nukari Foundation, a nonprofit based in Riobamba and Guamote areas of Ecuador.  Nukari Foundation’s work and goals complemented Youthlinc’s model incredibly well so Youthlinc did a site-visit to Ecuador to evaluate this new partnership. Youthlinc has established solid partnership with Nukari Foundation and evaluated all of the elements required to start a new site, including project potential, safety, accommodation, meals, excursions, and entering into a sustainable & mutually beneficial partnership with the local communities.

Ecuador is in South America, and has remarkable geographic diversity, encompassing the Amazon rainforest, the Andes mountain range, and the Pacific coastline. Its capital, Quito, is known for its well-preserved colonial architecture and sits high in the Andes. The Galápagos Islands, located off the coast, are renowned for their unique wildlife species that contributed to Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. Ecuador’s economy is largely reliant on oil exports, agriculture, and tourism, with its rich cultural heritage and breathtaking landscapes attracting visitors from around the world.

Read About Our Future Projects

Future projects include playground revitalization, installying a soccer field, repair the bathrooms at the primary school, building a safe fence to protect the school from wild animals, installing railings from the road to the school entrance, doing basic school repairs, and doing clean water projects with the community members.
The cultural committee will organize activities related to community-wide soccer and volleyball games, will organize home visits, work with local community members to take time to take animals into the countryside for grazing, take cooking lessons, and learn Kichwa, the indigenous language in the area.
The community is looking forward to STEM camps in English, working with the teenage "tech group," doing basic computer lessons (the community center has a small lab already), do a bicylcle to school program, collect supplies for the schools, and general English language practice.
The community is interested in learning about and receiving Days for Girls kits and learning about family planning, taking lessons on anger management, food and nutrition, dental hygiene, hand-washing, parasites, and vitamins.
The community women are interested in expanding their skills and abilities to make and sell handicrafts to the tourism market as it continues to grow.
The community would like to receive Youthlinc's business seminar to learn better skills at running successful businesses, especially as it relates to the tourism industry. They are near the Black Sand Dunes and would like help with branding, website, getting awareness on Trip Advisor, and empowering the indigenous population to run these adventures rather than mainstream Ecuadorians from Quito overtaking these opportunities.
There is a major opportunity to do tree-planting and revitalization projects near Guamote, trash-clean up, and recycling projects.
Excursions to Banos to visit the thermal baths, visit the Amazon rainforest, visit Cotopaxi Volcano, do a hike lead by indigenous women of the Chimborazo Volcano, and board down the Black Sand Dunes.

In-country Coordinator

Norma Urena
Moreno

Norma is the founder of Nukari Foundation. She actively engages with indigenous women to understand their unique challenges and learn from their experiences. As a trained linguist, Norma immersed herself in the communities where she cultivated deep relationships, gained firsthand insights that helped shape and strengthen the foundation’s programs and initiatives.

Norma is motivated by a deep sense of purpose and a desire to make a meaningful impact on indigenous communities in Chimborazo, recognizes the urgent need to formalize their work and create a sustainable platform to empower indigenous communities. 

Norma recognizes that education, economic empowerment, and community engagement were key pillars that could pave the way for sustainable development in indigenous communities in Ecuador.

Mindy Pack

Cambodia Co-Team Leader
CAMBODIA

Mindy and her husband Brandon are excited to be leading a team this year for Youthlinc. After hearing about this organization through many clients, families, and nannies, her family was able to jump on board 4 years ago. Despite having to wait and work around COVID, they were both able to have a wonderful mentor experience with their son Chase. Brandon went to Kenya in 2021, and Mindy recently went to Peru in 2022. After their experience Mindy was hooked and can’t wait to lead the Cambodia 2023 team this year. 

Mindy is no stranger to hard work, running camps, and mentoring youth and young adults. At the age of 18 Mindy was lucky to join a nonprofit as a performer and did several humanitarian trips to developing countries providing entertainment, exchange programs, and service activities.

Mindy is a lifelong student. After attending school in vocal performance, she holds certification in Vocology from the National Center of Voice and Speech and is a licensed and bonded Massage Therapist who specializes in body work for the performer. She owns and operates a voice studio with locations in Holladay, UT and in Los Angeles, CA where she coaches many household names and industry celebrities. Mindy is also currently a member of the faculty at Utah Valley University (UVU) in the Contemporary Music Department.

Mindy is beyond thrilled to able to share this experience with her husband and oldest son. Mindy and her husband are raising their 3 amazing kids as residents of Sandy, UT. Mindy is excited to meet and work with everyone traveling to Cambodia this year. It’s going to be an adventure!

Brandon Pack is currently employed at Adobe the software company with offices located in Lehi, UT.  As Senior Director of Software Engineering, he has the opportunity to work with top-notch software professionals and is passionate about teaching both technology and business.  He holds numerous patents with the US Patent office from his life’s work.  Brandon also currently serves on the Board of Directors for the non-profit organization the National Center of Voice and Speech as the technology representative.  Before joining Adobe, Brandon worked as Vice President of Engineering at several startups and software companies and Network Administrator for the University of Utah.

Brandon has earned a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Utah where he also received Bachelor’s Degrees in both Computer Science and Information Systems.  However, Brandon is most proud of the title of Husband and Father of two boys and one girl.  In fact he is often known by many simply as “Mindy’s Husband!”

Brandon has been fortunate enough to live, work, and travel internationally numerous times over the course of his life and is passionate about helping people from all walks of life.  Brandon was honored to have served as a mentor on the Youthlinc Keyna 2021 trip.

Brandon Pack

CAMBODIA CO-TEAM LEADER
CAMBODIA

Chloe Moss

Cambodia ATL
CAMBODIA

Hi!! My name is Chloe Moss and I’m so excited to be the ATL for the 2023 Cambodia team!! This will be my third Youthlinc trip. I’ve loved all the memories and connections I have experienced  through Youthlinc. I first went to Fiji in 2019 then went back in 2022. Fiji will always have a special place in my heart but I’m excited to experience a new culture. Most days you can find me at work, in the mountains or hanging out with my friends and family!!

I am the ATL on the Cambodia 2023 team! I’m super excited for this opportunity and can’t wait to get to know my team!  It’s going to be a great time!  A fun fact about me is that I really enjoy baking (so join my team and you’ll probably get some treats occasionally)!