Child Protection Ecuador Project #35858

Less work and more education for children in Quito

by ViaNinos UK

Less work and more education for children in Quito

Project Report | Apr 2, 2019
UBECI update April 2019

By Tania Songini | Chairperson

Thank you again to you all for your continued support of ViaNinos and UBECI and helping us to pay for the salary of an outreach worker providing vital support to working children in the markets of Southern Quito.

One of the main tasks of the UBECI outreach workers is to encourage the parents of the children working in the markets to enrol and keep their children in school. This is a real challenge for these families as they struggle to put together the money to pay for basic school needs and to help with homework, as many parents are illiterate.

UBECI’s social workers are key to providing much needed support and encouragement to make sure the children don’t drop out of school, helping them with school work when they attend the UBECI playgroups in the markets.

Earlier this year, ViaNinos was also able to help UBECI by providing 80 new school bags and kits thanks to our collaboration with the organisation School In A Bag. The children have benefitted not only from having all the items they need for their school and homework, but they also enjoyed a bit of a motivational boost, as illustrated in the story below!

While the UBECI staff were distributing the School In a Bag backpacks, one of the children's mothers came rushing over and to thank them for the school bag and stationary. She said her son's backpack was broken and unusable and he had asked her for a new one. She told him that she couldn't afford to buy a new one, but that he should have faith and ask God to give him one. He told his Mum that he was asking God for a new backpack. When he received his school bag, he jumped for joy and ran to his Mum saying. "it arrived! my present that I have been asking God for!"

If you would like to continue supporting the project you may want to consider setting up a recurring donation. Even 5-10 pounds a month would make a difference!

Very happy with a new school bag!

Outside the family market stall

Street outreach

With UBECI volunteers

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Jan 3, 2019
UBECI update January 2019

By Tania Songini | Chairperson

Thank you all for contributing to pay for the salary of the third outreach worker at UBECI.
If you would like to continue supporting the project you may want to consider setting up a recurring donation. Even 5-10 pounds a month would make a difference!

With your support the outreach workers have been able to continue their valuable work in the markets of Southern Quito and help an even greater number of children…

reducing working hours amongst the children
growing school enrollment levels
fostering physical and logical thinking development
providing medical care catering to needs, getting parents involved in their children’s health
educating the children about their rights and how to exercise these.

The number of children needing assistance and participating in market outreach programmes led by the 3 outreach workers, supported by Ecuadorian and international volunteers, continued to grow in 2018, increasing by 5% to 686. UBECI was able to continue providing educational and recreational activities to children in a safe environment, also helping child labourers and their families with matters relating to school entry and access to healthcare.
Thanks to UBECI’s efforts most children are now attending school.

Through careful planning of activities and themes for the playgroups by the social workers, the children have further developed their cognitive and motor skills and social and emotional wellbeing. Topics covered in 2018 included self-esteem, solidarity, prevention against abuse, education, risks of abduction and people trafficking. This last year has unfortunately seen an increase in the incidence of cases of abduction, and people and organ trafficking in the poorer areas of Quito.

Through regular contact with the outreach workers in depth support can be offered as needed. Staff and volunteers identify issues that the children are struggling with and tailor preventative and practical workshops and campaigns to address these. In 2018 UBECI worked on a number of campaigns including the dental programme (with a focus in 2018 on older children with severe dental problems), personal and social activity focussing on the importance of the children’s personal, social and emotional spheres, and school kits.

ViaNinos and UBECI extend their thanks to you all for choosing to support their projects by funding one of their outreach workers and helping the organisation extend its reach to more children in need. We hope we can count on your continued support going forward.

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