Queen’s Commerce Initiative Abroad sends 25 Commerce students volunteering in Ecuador
Posted on April 17, 2009
In its inaugural year, Queen’s Commerce Initiative Abroad (Q’CIA) took a group of Queen’s School of Business students abroad to volunteer over Reading Week. Q’CIA is an internal committee of the Commerce Society that aims to empower young business students to become more globally active and aware. Its core mission is to engage, inspire and motivate business students to develop a connection with the nations and people in need of our support and aid around the world. This year, Q’CIA was composed of 25 Queen’s School of Business first and second year students, led by Co-Chairs Adam Mitchell and Heather Gorham (BCom’11).
The group spent time in the capital city of Ecuador named Quito. Throughout the trip, Q’CIA worked to improve the infrastructure of a child day care centre painting murals and adding a fresh coat of paint to their playground materials. The team leveled out their playground area and laid seed in order to give the children the opportunity to play safely on grass. They also created a concrete area for the kids to play, which was one of their greatest wishes. On top of the work Q’CIA did on the playground, they were able to help the staff at the child day care centre with food preparation, feeding, teaching classes and giving the children as much attention as possible.
The trip was a success and the entire Q’CIA committee felt they had a cultural, eye-opening experience and also made a valuable contribution to the child care centre in Ecuador. The team is looking forward to planning future events.