Galapagos ICE

July 26-August 3, 2008:  Making his third trip to the Islands to help Galapagos ICE, Paul Gunn of Tennessee led a group of seven volunteers who accomplished repairs and improvements to Delia Ibarra Elementary School in the highland town of Santa Rosa, Isla Santa Cruz, in addition to performing work on the Santa Rosa Community Center.

“Galapagos ICE gave us great opportunities to make a difference in a remote part of the world,” says Paul. “It is a privilege to serve with the organization.”

Among the volunteers in this group were five University of Tennessee – Knoxville students: John David Carver, David Flowers, Ashley Bowman, Molly Choate and Daniel Shedd. Also in the group were Molly’s father, Bill Choate, and Callie Palmer of Texas.

Daniel arrived in the Islands one month before the rest of the group, to teach English as a Second Language and accomplish school repairs. “The students taught me more than I could ever teach them,” he said of the experience. “I’m not done yet,” he added, expressing a wish to return next summer for more volunteer work.

During their stay, the volunteers constructed tables for the school, installed a large Spanish-language world map in the cafeteria, distributed donations of school bags filled with supplies, and conducted music lessons for students using donated musical instruments: 2 guitars, several recorders, and a large set of shakers and hand bells.

Callie and Molly are Special Education student teachers and both spent time visiting with special needs children during their visit. On Callie’s first trip volunteering with Galapagos ICE in 2007, she met a young girl with Down Syndrome named Genesis. On her return trip, she brought donations of books especially suited for Genesis’ developmental needs.

July 27-August 8, 2008: Nancy Palmer, a nurse and educator from the US, and her husband Tom, a physician, spent two weeks in the Galapagos, volunteering their services as medical professionals. Part of their trip was spent visiting the hospital in Puerto Ayora to learn more about medical services available in the Islands. They also volunteered at the local Elderly Center in Puerto Ayora, where they gave free check ups to senior citizens and to children with disabilities. Then, they spent five days in the highland village of Santa Rosa, where they provided free check-ups for children at Delia Ibarra elementary, as well as the general community. In total, they saw about 200 patients, and distributed $1200 worth of donated medicine from Blessings International: Medicines for Missions.

“We really enjoyed our two weeks invested in the ICE organization,” said Nancy and Tom, of their experience volunteering with Galapagos ICE. “We appreciate the mission, methods, and professionalism of this organization. ICE is committed to preserving the unique environment of the Galalpagos while improving the lives of its people. We have seen a number of positive results of the work of ICE!”

July 2008:  Nineteen volunteers from the coeducational Ecuadoran Scouting organization (Asociación de Scouts del Ecuador) in Quito spent 2 days painting 5 houses surrounding the main square of Santa Rosa, and touching up the town’s main office and coliseum interior. Seventeen of the volunteers were children, ages 6-17, accompanied by 2 adult leaders. Their efforts help the citizens of Santa Rosa fulfill their goals for improvement and beautification of their village, particularly to attract ecologically minded tourists.

April 2008:  Galapagos ICE coordinated an effort with Ecology Project International (EPI) for 32 volunteers — 16 students and teachers from the United States and 16 Galapagos high school students — to paint the exteriors of Santa Rosa’s municipal buildings and perform lawn and landscaping maintenance on their grounds. EPI is an educational non-profit that works through FUNDAR, a Galapagos foundation focused on conservation, to offer international and local students the opportunity to learn ecological field research techniques in the Islands. Participants are required to fulfill community service and this group generously volunteered their time to help with the Galapagos ICE Santa Rosa campaign.