ViaNiños’ founder, Tania Songini, is frequently asked why she set up the not-for-profit organisation that raises funds to support street children in Quito, Ecuador. Her answer is very simple. Her friend Daniel had returned from volunteering at CENIT in Ecuador and having witnessed first-hand the heart breaking experiences of working children in Quito and the fantastic work that CENIT (The Integrated Childhood and Adolescence Centre) does to support these children, he wanted to support their work from back home. Inspired by his experiences, Tania decided to join him in this venture.
The children we support have never been to school and live in tragic family situations. Their parents are frequently illiterate and often struggle to care for their children due to poverty and its associated social problems. The families have typically moved to the city from the countryside looking for work but find themselves caught in the trap of finding little or poorly paid work that barely covers their basic living costs. As a result, the children are taken to work in the markets – either working themselves or left to roam. They frequently experience neglect and abuse (both physical and verbal). There is little opportunity to play and learn new skills needed to develop and their education is low down on their family’s list of priorities.
CENIT does phenomenal work to reach out to the kids and their families, educating the parents about the value of education and giving the children experiences of play and help with social skill development, often lacking in their home environments.
Tania later spent time in Quito at CENIT with Daniel and this confirmed her commitment to supporting the organisation. It is funded mainly through donations and supported by volunteers but the work CENIT does is so important. The education system in Ecuador is changing now but when we started ViaNiños in 2003, these working children were not included in the mainstream schooling system. While the Ecuadorian government is now making education compulsory for all children, many of these working children are falling through the net – many are not registered at birth – and mainstream schools do not cater for older children who have missed early education and need tailored programs to give them an appropriate level of education and more focus on vocational training.
ViaNiños’ fundraising activities pay for market outreach workers and school teachers. Over the past 14 years, we have supported hundreds of children into school, to gain an education or vocation that enables them to break the cycle of poverty and provide a brighter future for themselves and future generations.
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