Conestoga Eye and Princeton Pediatric Vision Screenings Mission – Ecuador 2023 March 11th-18th
Important Contacts
| Travel Guide & Emergency Contact | Mario Fuentes: +593 98 727-3727 |
| PACH Facilitators | Sarah Marjane
Phone: +1 (570) 903-4921 Nathan Shaw Phone: +593 98 160-2942 |
| FIBUSPAM Offices and Clinic | FIBUSPAM, Ecuador
Cooperative Maestros de Chimborazo |
| FIBUSPAM In-Country Director | David Guacho
Phone: +593 99 712-0906 |
Itinerary
Day 1 – Saturday, March 11th
Welcome to your first day in Ecuador! You will be greeted at the airport by your travel guide, Mario. A local snack and water will be available on the bus. You will then be transferred to your hotel.
Accommodations: Wyndham Hotel, Guayaquil
Flight: JetBlue 1769, arrival Guayaquil 10:24 pm
Day 2 – Sunday, March 12th
Today we’ll enjoy a day trip tour of Hacienda La Danesa, a farm on the coast of Guayaquil, about 1.5 hours away from the city, before transferring to Riobamba.
Plan to have breakfast at 7:00am to depart the hotel at 8:00am (times subject to change based on tour and transportation schedules). **Be sure to have all of your bags packed and checked out of rooms as we won’t be returning to this hotel.
Weather in Guayaquil is warm and humid. Wear comfortable shoes and clothes and sunscreen and bring your water bottle. There will be a water jug on the bus for you to refill your water bottles throughout the trip.
At La Danesa, we will take a tour of the cacao farm to learn more about the process of making chocolate including a chocolate process demonstration and cow milking.
We’ll enjoy lunch at La Danesa and then head to Riobamba, which is about a 3.5 hour drive. Once in Riobamba we will stop at Hospital FIBUSPAM for a quick tour and to introduce you to the staff that you will be working with. After the tour we’ll have dinner and check into the hotel.
Lunch: Hacienda la Danesa
Dinner: Restaurant in Riobamba
Accommodations: Mansión Santa Isabella, Riobamba, Av. Jose Veloz y Carabobo
Day 3 – Monday March 13th
First day of vision clinic in the community. Plan to have breakfast at the hotel by 6:00am for departure by 6:30am *(Times subject to change based upon community schedule needs and community distance from Riobamba). At breakfast, begin discussions about how you will plan to allocate tasks for the day.
If you have brought any donations for the communities, make sure to bring them along.
(See the last page of this packet for a list of possible items to bring for donations.)
Travel time to the community can be between 45 minutes-1.5 hours. Be sure to wear comfortable shoes, warm clothes, and layers as it can get quite cool in the high altitudes, and sunscreen.
Once in the community, we will begin to set-up the space, as directed by the Conestoga Eye Team. Jennifer Silbert will assign people to the various stations. Everyone will have an opportunity to rotate to different stations throughout the day. Stations can include a registration area; a photoscreening station, line management, a visual acuity station (2+ lines); an eye drop/dilation station; an eye exam station; a frames station; and a data entry station. A key component of the fieldwork is data entry. All patient data is tracked for possible medical publications.
Lunch will be served in the community, which will include items to make sandwiches and snacks. Plan to eat in shifts to keep the flow going.
After lunch we will continue the exams and then head back to Riobamba in the late afternoon.
Lunch: in the community (sandwiches)
Dinner: restaurant in Riobamba.
Accommodations: Mansión Santa Isabella, Riobamba, Av. Jose Veloz y Carabobo
Daily Goal: Provide Vision Screening to at least 400 children.
Day 4 – Tuesday, March 14th
Second clinic day in the community. Structure will reflect that of the prior day but may be in a different community.
Plan to have breakfast at the hotel by 6am for departure by 6:30am (times subject to change based upon community schedule needs and community distance from Riobamba). Bring any donations or supplies you brought along. At breakfast, begin discussions about how you will plan to allocate tasks for the day.
Lunch: in the community
Dinner: a local restaurant in Riobamba.
Accommodations: Mansión Santa Isabella, Riobamba, Av. Jose Veloz y Carabobo
Daily Goal: Provide Vision Screening to at least 400 children.
Day 5 – Wednesday, March 15th
Today is the third clinic day in the community. Structure will reflect that of the prior day but may be in a different community.
Lunch: in the community
Dinner: a local restaurant in Riobamba.
Accommodations: Mansión Santa Isabella, Riobamba, Av. Jose Veloz y Carabobo
Daily Goal: Provide Vision Screening to at least 400 children.
Day 6 – Thursday, March 16th
Today is the fourth clinic day in the community. Structure will reflect that of the prior day but may be in a different community.
For dinner, we will have a special celebration dinner with all volunteers and key FIBUSPAM staff that supported the mission at a restaurant outside of Riobamba. This dinner will be more formal than the other restaurants.
Lunch: in the community
Dinner: restaurant outside Riobamba
Dinner: restaurant outside Riobamba
Accommodations: Mansión Santa Isabella, Riobamba, Av. Jose Veloz y Carabobo
Daily Goal: Provide Vision Screening to at least 400 children.
Day 7 – Friday, March 17th
Plan to have breakfast at the hotel. *Be sure to be packed and checked out as we won’t be returning to this hotel tonight. All luggage will be packed onto the bus*
Today is the fifth clinic day in the community and will reflect a similar structure as the previous days.
In the afternoon, the team will return to Guayaquil.
Lunch: in the community
Dinner: on the way to Guayaquil
Accommodations: Wyndham Hotel, Guayaquil
Daily Goal: Provide Vision Screening to at least 400 children.
Day 8 – Saturday, March 18th
Plan to have breakfast at the hotel. After breakfast the team will have free time to enjoy the pool and relax. The team needs to be packed and checked-out by noon. *All luggage will be packed onto the bus*
At noon the team will leave the hotel and have lunch at a local restaurant, which will be followed by a city tour. After the city tour you will be transferred to the airport. This will be a long travel day and therefore you should dress comfortably. Additionally, the weather in Guayaquil is very different from Riobamba as it can be hot and muggy.
We will have dinner at a local restaurant before heading to the airport. You will be dropped off at the airport three hours prior to departure.
Lunch: Restaurant in Guayaquil
Dinner: Restaurant in Guayaquil
