Ecuador Volunteering-Health-Street Outreach Clinic

Description

Centro de la Niña Trabajadora (CENIT) is a non-governmental, non-profit organization that is dedicated to providing opportunities for Ecuadorian youth. This organization was started as an attempt to address a number of social issues that were escalating due to events that took place through the 1980's. In the late 1970's to the late 1980's many countries throughout the world entered into a recession due, in part, to a drastic increase in Oil prices. As a result, these countries began to need assistance. Ecuador began to borrow more and more money, however, they were finding it difficult to repay the loans due to high interest rates and little economic surplus.
The debt crisis (as known by many people in Ecuador) occurred throughout many countries in Latin America and as a result many countries like Ecuador were so far into debt that they could not pay the loans back. During this period many people lost their jobs, the social infrastructure in Ecuador began to crumble and there was no money to put into improving educational or medical facilities. As a result, working children became a common sight on the streets of Quito and all over most Latin American cities.
Since this phenomenon began, many programs and centres have been formed to assist in supporting males to find employment and aid. In 1989, frustrated by the lack of attention paid to the specific problems confronted by working girls, a group of concerned Ecuadorian citizens founded Centro de la Niña Trabajadora (CENIT).
The founding members of CENIT wanted to create a program that was focused on creating opportunities for young girls who were unable to attend school, who did not have access to safe drinking water and who were not able to access health and medical care. By developing and implementing educational and vocational programs, CENIT is helping working girls and their families overcome barriers and receive essential necessities. They have created many opportunities for young women, such as, a basic education, job training and access to recreational games.

Why does this organization need volunteers?

This organization provides a variety of support services to individuals living in and around Quito. The Street Outreach clinic is one of seven different health initiatives that CENIT has developed and is currently implementing. Each program focuses on different challenges related to health yet all have the same aim, which is to improve accessibility to adequate health care.
The Street Outreach Clinic Program is dedicated to providing primary health services to individuals that do not have access to health care. This program is comprised of a group of volunteers and nurses who go as a team to the markets in Quito and provide medical assistance to anyone who is in need. Two days a week, the teams go to one of three markets in Quito to provide on-site care.
This service is very important to many individuals who work in the markets because it provides individuals, who have limited economic resources, and who are unable to leave their work site to visit a hospital, an opportunity to have access to health care. This program currently sees over seventy patients a week, approximately 75% of whom are female.
Volunteers are needed to join the groups and travel to the markets with the health care professionals.

What tasks will you be required to fulfil?

Volunteers helping with this placement may be asked to assist in a variety of tasks including weighing the patients, taking blood pressure, updating or creating new charts, helping with basic assessments and helping transfer individuals to the CENIT hospital if required.
Volunteers will also be able to provide information to the patients on proper nutrition and hygiene or family planning.
A very important responsibility in the Street Outreach Clinic is to assist people with poor health to gain access to knowledge and/or the required treatment.
In addition, you may have the opportunity to update the educational materials that are used as tools to teach people about important health topics and to conduct health workshops in the markets.

Requirements:
Volunteers are required to have a basic background in medicine and should have some experience working with patients. Volunteers should understand the importance of keeping information confidential and should be able to act professionally.
Volunteers will be required to speak Spanish at their placement as many of the patients that they will be working with will have little or no English skills. Therefore, in order to be effective you will need to be able to converse in Spanish effectively.

Requirements

Language

English

Upon arrival in country our staff will pick you up at the airport and return you to our Orientation Center for a safety briefing and general country orientation. For this program you are required to complete one - 4 weeks of language training and orientation which is included in the cost of the program. At the end of that week you will transfer to your placement to begin volunteering. Our staff are available to assist you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week should you require help of any kind.