by Carla
Hola, I am Carla and since september 2023 (6 months ago) I am doing voluntary work in Quito, Ecuador. Together with another German volunteer I work in the project Angeles en Cuatro Patas, a rehabilitation center for children with (physical and psychic) disabilities that offers equine therapy (therapies on horses) and riding classes. The project is located next to the metropolitan park “Guangüiltagua”. We work side by side with Ebe Caccio, our boss and host mother, as well as trained coworkers. Our team also includes 18 horses, two donkeys and a lot of dogs
The horses really are “Angeles”, they are very sweet, and the children love them. It is always nice to see how happy they arrive to the center and build relationships with the animals. During the therapies the children do exercises and games on top of the horse. These are for example games that stimulate motoric abilities as well as practice colors, numbers or letters. Or exer-cises that help the equilibrium or help the children build confidence.
During my time here I’ve been able to see a lot of successful cases. The children start opening up, talking to us or riding more independently. Of course there are hard parts too, like when the children don’t respond to the games or exercises or get scared of the horses. Then we try to support them and help them opening to towards the animal.
Apart from the therapies, there are a bunch of things to do here at the center. We start our mornings by bringing the horses and donkeys on the paddock at the park. Then we clean out the stables. Our tasks also include feeding the horses and taking care of them in general. That means for example caring for the horses when they are sick. So, there is always something to do here, and I really enjoy the work. It is a beautiful project that does very important social work. Being here has already teached me a lot and I am very happy to have had the opportunity to come here as a volunteer of FIIDES and ODI (Open Doors International, our German partner organization). As volunteers from Germany, we are also living here in the project side by side with Ebe. She is loving and living this project and her animals with all her heart. Living right here in the project has helped us a lot built relationships with the animals.
I love the work of “Angeles” and wish all the best for our team and the horses in the future. I will definitely enjoy my next four months here!
