Join us in Bringing TAW Values and Experience to Ecuador!
March 14 - 23, 2027
We are recruiting a group of 10-12 alumnae to travel to Ecuador for cultural immersion, spiritual growth, and service. We will be providing the programming for a Women's Camp Weekend, similar to TAW's Grown Up Girls Getaway (GUGG) weekend. There will also be plenty of opportunities to explore Ecuadoran culture, bond with TAW sisters, build cross cultural relationships, and deepen your own faith, whatever that may look like.
Open to any TAW sister 18 or older: former or current staff, former camper, mom, GUGG girl.
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What will we do?
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Sunday - Meet in Charlotte* to gather, bond over dinner, and final preparations. Stay in a hotel. *city we fly out of will be determined by where participants are most centrally located
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Monday - Fly to Quito, meet our e=h hosts, settle into hostel
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Tuesday - Explore historic Quito, learn about e=h & Ecuadoran culture
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Wednesday - Visit Carmen Bajo, the community with whom we'll do the Mother/Child camp. Meet Pastor Fabien and other leaders, play with the kids in their after school program, visit family homes.
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Thursday - Spend the day at El Refugio for time in nature, reflection, and team bonding.
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Friday - Sunday - Women's Camp Weekend
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Camp location is at Pastor Fabien's property an hour from Quito, above Lake San Lagos. (see pics below).We will sleep in a hostel near the camp, but spend all day leading camp programming and enjoying meals at the camp.
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Sunday after camp ends, we travel to Papallacta and stay at a volcanic spa.
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Monday - A day of reflection and rejuvenation at a volcanic spa.
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Tuesday - Arrive back to the US and say goodbye at the airport
Who will we be with?
TAW Leadership and Alumnae Director, Jesse Wharton, will return to Ecuador with the group. There, we will work with Education Equals Hope (e=h), an organization founded by TAW sister Cameron Graham Vivanco. This organization is dedicated to removing barriers to education by partnering with community groups through which they grant micro-scholarships. Upon landing, we will meet two e=h hosts who will be our guides and translators througout our time in Ecuador.
We will work directly with the Carmen Bajo community, through a church lead by Pastor Fabien and his wife, Tia Grace. TAW has been building our relationship with this community as they work to provide camp experiences to children in their neighborhood at a property outside of Quito overlooking Lake San Lagos. In conversation about how TAW can support their camp mission, it came out that we could provide a women's weekend at the property for their women's ministry. We will work with other leaders from the community to provide the camp experience, including Heydi who has spent the past 2 summers as a counselor at TAW!
Where will we stay?
The first night we will all meet up and stay together at a hotel near the airport, so we can form as a group and all arrive together for a morning flight. We fly into Quito, where we will stay in a hostel for four nights. Friday we will go to the camp location and spend the weekend there for all activities and meals, but we will sleep in a nearby hostel. Sunday we will leave the camp for Papallacta, where we'll stay at a spa hotel for our final night in Ecuador. It will be a night flight Monday, arriving back to US Tuesday morning. You will share a room with at least one other TAW sister in each place we stay.
How much does it cost?
Total cost is ~$4000 and includes airfair, all lodging, meals, transportation, travel insurance, translators/hosts, and cultural excursions. The fee also enables the women to attend the camp, as it covers the cost of creating the Women's Camp Weekend. You will be responsible for providing your transportation to the meeting city airport, food during airport travel, souvenirs, extra snacks/drinks, and spa treatments as you choose.
Why TAW in Ecuador?
TAW has been raising women of character for generations. Women who uphold the TAW creed and believe in "friendships and servce to others." With this lens, Cameron saw how TAW could spread our values beyond our campus. Kim visited a couple of years ago with other admin staff and saw the opportunity for true partnership that would benefit all invovled. Summer '25 TAW hired our first e=h scholarship recipient, sponsoring the fees associated with being an international staff. The same summer, our first session LITs spent a week in Ecuador bringing camp programming to an underserved community, and the experience was life changing. It was an honor to see the personal and spiritual growth in these young women as they stepped out of their comfort zones into a new culture, built lasting connections, and opened their hearts and minds. We had an equally successful experience Summer '26! Now we want to offer this same opportunity to our alumnae, who also have gifts to give and deserve opportunities for personal growth.
Ready to Join us?
Sign up here!