Giving Back with Purpose

Since 2017, Nested LLC has partnered with Partners for Andean Community Health (PACH) to lead annual medical missions affectionately known as Project Nido (“Project Nest”). Together, we provide free medical and dental care to indigenous and underserved communities in Ecuador.

PACH’s mission is to foster sustainable healthcare systems in Andean Ecuador through education, resources, and lasting partnerships with its Ecuadorian nonprofit clinic, Fundación Internacional Buen Samaritano Paul Martel Hospital (FIBUSPAM)

Each year, Project Nido brings volunteers to Ecuador to deliver high-quality, affordable medical, dental, and vision services to people who otherwise have little or no access to care.

How It All Began

In 2016, after a major earthquake struck Ecuador’s coast, PACH received a grant to provide medical relief. They had a mobile clinic and a planned route—but no women’s health provider.

At the time, I had two young kids at home, spoke only some high school Spanish, and had never done international medical work. I said yes anyway.

I packed my altitude medicine, got on a plane, and landed in a village with no electricity, intense heat, and one standing concrete structure. People came by foot, horse, and truck. For three days, medical care would be available.

There were no exam rooms and no privacy. So I listened.

One woman after another described getting “sick” once a month—pain, nausea, dizziness, fear. Eventually, I realized they were talking about their periods. They didn’t know what menstruation was.  Some thought they were dying. Others believed they would bleed until there was nothing left. With no access to menstrual pads, many stayed home from school or work for a week each month until the bleeding stopped.

That was the moment I knew this couldn’t be a one-time trip.

Since then, we’ve returned every year. Sometimes it’s with seasoned clinicians; other times it’s with young adults preparing for medical or PA school. No matter who joins, the goal is the same: listen carefully, provide thoughtful care, and respond to what’s actually needed.

Project Nido 2025

In July 2025, 40 volunteers traveled to Tena, Ecuador, a small city on the eastern edge of the Andes. The team provided care to 500 people, including cervical cancer screening and treatment.  Project Nido also provided CPR and choking prevention training for local families and healthcare workers.

Project Nido 2026

Join us for the 2026 Project Nido Leadership Program, a week-long medical mission to Ecuador in partnership with PACH and FIBUSPAM.

Volunteers play a vital role in the medical caravans while gaining a unique cross-cultural experience. Roles include:

• Assisting with medical, dental, and vision clinics
  
• Prescribing and distributing reading glasses (for licensed providers)
  
• Providing dental education for children
  
• Supporting local community projects

No medical experience or Spanish language skills are required—just an open heart and a willingness to serve. For more details, see our 2026 Project Nido Flyer. (coming soon)

In July 2023, Nested embarked on its 5th annual medical mission to Ecuador, Project Nido! Watch a VIDEO about the 2023 trip here!

The Nested Project Nido team of more than 30 people was composed of individuals and families with teens, and included: physician assistants (PA), physical therapists (PT), doctors, registered nurses (RN), health educators and teens. The group traveled to Ecuador to participate in a medical caravan to support the staff of Hospital FIBUSPAM and to provide consultations, acute medical care and treatments to several dozen individuals in two indigenous Ecuadorian communities in rural areas around the hospital. Several patients also received referrals for further care and successfully scheduled follow-up appointments at Hospital FIBUSPAM.

The health educators from Nested worked with women in the communities to identify their greatest needs in the area of women’s health and provided them with education & products, including ways to alleviate symptoms and resolve issues surrounding prolapsed uteri, painful menstrual cycles, and menopause. The women were provided with free menstrual cups, pessaries, ice packs, and heating pads. The team also provided the patients with hand sanitizer, toiletry kits (soaps, lotions, deodorant), oral health care products (toothbrushes, toothpaste) and condoms as well as crayons & coloring books for the children.                                                                             

In addition to providing acute medical care and health education, the team also contributed to Project Prosperity, a new joint effort between PACH and Hospital FIBUSPAM to provide teenage mothers with income generating skills, health education, and medical care. 

 The Project Nido team provided each young woman with free general medical, pediatric, and gynecological care for themselves and their babies. Project Nido’s teen volunteers also reviewed computer literacy with the mothers and spent time exchanging stories. In addition, the group visited an in-patient home for elderly people and for people with disabilities where the team spent the day playing bingo and wheelchair basketball and other activities.

2022 Project NIDO

In July of 2022, Nested embarked on its 4th annual medical mission to Ecuador. The trip was a huge success as Nested supported the care of almost 300 Ecuadorians in need. In addition to focusing on providing healthcare to remote indigenous populations, this year’s mission trip was particularly special because Nested also dedicated a full day of service to cater to Venezuelan* refugees living in Ecuador. Since 2020, PACH and FIBUSPAM have been working diligently to provide free and low-cost healthcare options for Venezuelan migrants in Ecuador.

The Nested mission trip consisted of consultations and acute medical care and education with specialists such as dentists, gynecologists, chiropractors, ophthalmologists, physician assistants, and ENTs. They also received free medications upon prescription, exams, and even glasses when necessary. Several received recommended treatments for more severe ailments and many booked follow-up appointments. Health educators also worked with women to identify their greatest needs in the area of women’s health and provided them with the education and products they needed to help address some of the issues they were facing. This included working to find ways to alleviate symptoms and resolve issues such as prolapsed uteri, painful menstrual cycles, and menopause. The educators provided women with free menstrual cups, pessaries, ice packs, and heating pads.

In addition to providing acute medical care, the project connected the FIBUSPAM clinic and PACH with the Venezuelan community in Ecuador. From this project, Venezuelans in Chimborazo and throughout Ecuador know about the subsidized and low-cost services provided by FIBUSPAM year-round and that the care is free from discrimination and prejudice.

Project NIDO 2022 Statistics

• 87 lbs of donated supplies carried by our # team members
• 278 patients treated, ranging in age from 2-92
• 175 toothbrushes donated
• 100 pairs of eyeglasses distributed
• 250 sanitary pads, menstrual cups, heating pads & other medical assistant aid products

*Due to severe shortages of medicines, doctors, and healthcare facilities in Venezuela, migrants typically sustain significant periods of time without access to healthcare before, during, and after migration (Human Rights Watch, 2019). Almost 30% of Venezuelan migrants in Ecuador are unable to access healthcare (UNHCR, 2021). Ecuador struggles to provide enough resources for its population, containing only 1.4 hospital beds and 2.2 physicians per thousand people. The overwhelming pressure of such a large influx of migrants on Ecuador’s National Health System has made it harder to provide Venezuelans with the care they need.

2019 Project NIDO

In April 2019, Nidhi and the Nested team participated in the Project Nido medical mission trip where they helped provide health education and medical services to indigenous communities of Ecuador’s Chimborazo Province. Working in partnership with PACH Ecuador, Nested provided a combination of medical and dental services to over 600 children and adults in a three-day time period! Project Nido 2019 was a unique trip focused on women’s health, vision care and dental health education to address the underlying causes of many of the patients’ medical complaints.

2018 Project NIDO

In May 2018, Nidhi and the Nested team participated in the Project Nido medical mission trip where they helped provide health education and medical services to indigenous communities of Ecuador’s Chimborazo Province. Working in partnership with Trek Coalition and PACH, the Nested team provided high-quality medical care to 883 Ecuadorians in need during the five-day trip! Project Nido 2018 focused on public health issues that affect women & children, cervical cancer screenings, prenatal care, eye chart exams & dental health screening as well as education on various health topics, including dental hygiene, water consumption, education about female anatomy and family planning.

Nested Team at Project NIDO 2018 in Chimborazo Province, Ecuador

In 2017, Nidhi, with Nicole Hakenson, Grace Roman, Mario Fuentes and others, volunteered to help provide medical services to the west coast of Ecuador from the devastation caused by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake in 2016.  The team traveled by bus with local PACH doctors, dentists and staff and found all the buildings leveled to the ground with significant flooding and infrastructure damage. Among 70 surrounding village communities, there was one free standing, stable building that had a generator capabilities and served as a church (see photo). Prior to our arrival, leaders of those villages traveled to their communities and spread the word our visit. When the team arrived at the building, they learned that hundreds of Ecuadorians had traveled by foot or horse to seek much needed medical care.

Project NIDO 2017 clinic in the only stable building left standing after the 2016 7.8 magnitude earthquake