With experience as a mountaineering guide in Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia, NOLS Wilderness Medicine instructor Felipe Jacome has made leaps and bounds in providing wilderness medicine courses in Spanish for locals in Ecuador. “When I took my first WFR course in Ecuador it was in English,” he said. “Of course it was hard.” What began as extended training for his guiding career formulated into a dual career of guiding and wilderness medicine education. After receiving his WFR certification, Felipe traveled to North Carolina, USA, with two fellow coursemates to receive an EMT-B certification through Landmark Learning, a NOLS Wilderness Medicine affiliate. “The intention was to create a group of permanent local instructors that taught Spanish courses in Ecuador,” he said. Felipe began instructing for NOLS Wilderness Medicine in 2006, and in looking for new ways to expand wilderness medicine education created a nonprofit organization intended to assist instructors to teach basic first aid workshops in rural communities throughout Ecuador and hopefully the rest of South America he says. “[First Aid] is important because it improves your quality of life in all senses,” he said. “You become useful in your family, home, and even your community.” Mingai (native word for team work) is a NOLS Wilderness Medicine affiliate and a volunteer-based program opened to all NOLS Wilderness Medicine students and staff. “I wanted to give the opportunity to our students to practice all the skills they learned on [NOLS Wilderness Medicine] courses,” he said, noting he hopes to train more instructors.