Ecuador – The Situation.    

Ecuador is poor with little chance of removing itself from the poverty trap in the short term. However there are some encouraging signs, one is that in Rafael Correa they may just have elected a president, who does have Ecuador and the Ecuadorian people in his heart and really wants to improve their lot and not just his personal bank account.
However it is not a good idea to hold ones breath as Ecuador has had more presidents in the last few years than can be counted on two hands – One Rosalía Arteaga lasted less than two days!
It is hard to find confirmation of the figures for child poverty. However the Red Cross maintain that of the population of approximately 14 million, 1 million children live below the poverty line; many living on the streets, where they survive by selling fruit, cheap plastic goods or working as shoe shine boys.  For the poor children at home, the living conditions are scarcely better than the streets. We visited slums where conditions were as bad as any country l have been to if not the worst l have ever seen. Many children do not attend school, health care is basic and badly organised although some local authorities are trying their best with very limited resources. Malnutrition rates are high with maize, bananas and rice as the staple diet    
One of the most surprising facts in Ecuador is the number of families that split up and the consequent maltreatment of children by one or both parents. Often children are abandoned, many are beaten by step parents and the number of children sexually abused seems to be higher than we have found in other countries. Whereas in Burma children tend to be exploited but to a degree cared for, here there is definitely more abuse and maltreatment.
It would appear that after the election of Rafael Correa, who is styled in the vein of Eva Morales (Bolivia) and Hugo Chaves (Venezuala) and not much liked by the Americans, a number of international charities have reduced their funding to Ecuador, which is of course going to create more problems for the poor and particularly the children. Under these circumstances it is not difficult to find projects that need our support, however as usual we have to work where we have total confidence in the people with whom we are associated. We are extremely happy with the projects that we have chosen and have every confidence in the great work that the people on the ground are doing.

Ecuador – Our Projects.

In the province of Pichincha we are working in a large semi industrial city, Santo Domingo de los Colorados, within a huge Catholic parish that covers most of the city. The organisation is Accion Social, which was started to support the local children by the then parish priest Father Egon. The organisation has now developed into the local Social Services, even the town hall uses their skills, offering homes and care to street children, abandoned, orphaned, abused and handicapped children.They support many hundreds of these children within their homes and safe houses. They also support seriously handicapped children, who are living with poor parents and who cannot afford the necessary healthcare or children that have been abused or abandoned.  All of these children need sponsorship and support, whether they are in the care of Accion Social, fostered to local families or in the case of handicapped children still with their poor families. Please see our website for a selection of Accion Social children, who urgently need support.
In the south of the country in the largest city, Guyaquil, we are working with Juconi (Junto con los niños). This organisation was started by an English woman, who is married to an Ecuadorian and is working with the street children in the city.
Firstly they have local people on the streets who make contact through the children with their parents. They then put a sponsorship scheme in place for that child and the family. The family are encouraged to send the child back to school and the funds are provided for food and healthcare. The family are then supported with information on educational matters, healthcare and general welfare matters on a regular basis for four years. After this period of time it is hoped that the family has gained a good proportion of stability and they are therefore no longer supported financially, but are monitored on a regular basis to deal with any problems should they arise. To support a street child and help to get him/her back to school within the family environment, please go to the Ecuadorian children for sponsorship page on this website.
Finally we have a small fund project working with the Red Cross in Quito. The Red Cross provide treatment such as chemotherapy to seriously or terminally ill children, however due to poverty many do not attend on a regular basis, thus the children’s chance of survival is seriously reduced. The Red Cross do not have any spare funds available to help these families and therefore we have set up a fund (administered by the Red Cross) where the family can apply to them for transportation and child care costs for other children in the family who may be left at home while their sibling is receiving treatment. The money for this fund will be taken from our general donations Fund.
Many children in Ecuador desperately need your help, please go to our Ecuador children for sponsorship page.