Education in the western world is taken for granted. We often forget the privilege of schooling and the opportunities it brings for getting on in life – a good job, a home, providing for your family and all the other things that an education and money allows.
1 in 5 Ecuadorians live in poverty and the US Department for Labor estimates over 303,000 children between 5-14 were employed in child labour in 2018. Most are indigenous families from the countryside.
The Ecuadorian government is making great strides improving the country’s education system and making education mandatory for all children but street and working children still fall through the net and need ongoing help from non-governmental organisations to provide for the educational needs of under-privileged and neglected children.
We work with two partner organisations CENIT (the Integrated Childhood and Adolescence Centre) and UBECI (United to Benefit Ecuadorian Children, International) which do an outstanding job at bridging the gap and providing education and social support for working children and their parents:
- CENIT was established over 25 years ago to get young girls who were found working in two South Quito markets into education. Now it accepts over 200 boys and girls a year and has a far-reaching program from street outreach to schooling, vocational training and child sponsorship initiatives. They also work with dentists to address oral hygiene and dental problems and have an onsite health clinic for primary care, referrals and preventative work.
- UBECI was started by Byron Salvatierra for similar reasons to CENIT. Their focus is primarily outreach work – going into the markets to provide play activities and teach hygiene and social skills.
Together, CENIT and UBECI have helped hundreds of children and families break the cycle of abject poverty.
ViaNiños’ fundraising activities pay for market outreach workers and school teachers. Over the course of 14 years we have supported hundreds of children get into school, gain an education or vocation that enables them to break the cycle of poverty and provide a brighter future for themselves and future generations.
