Healthcare company Bupa will launch its largest ever staff volunteering challenge in a remote village in Ecuador this month.
Around 120 Bupa employees from across the globe will travel to Ecuador between September and November to build essential health facilities for the small agricultural community of Miraflores, where a doctor only visits six times a year, due to its remote location.
A group of ten volunteers will fly out to Ecuador every week for three months and will work alongside the Martha Estrella Foundation – a registered charity based in Ecuador, which helps disadvantaged communities find lasting solutions to improve social and economic conditions.
The Ecuador challenge is being wholly funded by Bupa, with volunteers aiming to raise £1,000 each, meaning that at least £120,000 will go towards improving the lives of the Miraflores community for the long term. Each volunteer will spend a week undertaking tasks ranging from helping with the construction of the health centre and teaching English, to delivering healthcare programmes to the local community.
The Ecuador challenge will bring together Bupa employees from Australia, New Zealand, Spain, Denmark, Thailand, the USA, Latin America and the UK and is a part of Bupa’s long-term commitment to support the communities in which it operates.
Bob Watson, Bupa Group HR director, said: “We believe passionately in supporting communities in territories around the world where we operate. As a health and care company, we believe this should be core to our business and this remains true no matter what the economic climate.
“We also believe in providing our staff with the chance to volunteer, learn new skills and work alongside each other. The Ecuador challenge does all this on an international scale, bringing our employees from around the world together to support a small community, which currently doesn’t enjoy many of the things it is easy to take for granted, such as basic health facilities.”