Less work and more education for children in Quito

UBECI’s activities in the playgroups at the markets have now fully resumed. There is a lot of catching up to do after two years of frequent lockdowns!

COVID restrictions have taken their toll on physical and mental health, also leading to an increase in domestic abuse, and a broader increase in poverty and vulnerability of the, mainly indigenous, children in the markets of Southern Quito where UBECI works.

UBECI has been focussing its work on strengthening the children’s emotional and physical health, and teaching them and their mothers’ about the rights they are entitled to.

The playgroup activities are increasingly using ‘stories’ to explain issues and challenges and how to deal with these, particularly relating to the impact of COVID, building children’s families and familiar surroundings into these tales, and helping to nevertheless highlight positive aspects in the children’s daily lives, in spite of the many problems they are grappling with. Each tale also identifies a number of new words, expanding the children’s Spanish vocabulary, as many grow up only speaking Quichua, an indigenous language.

UBECI has also been supporting the children’s mothers with workshops to strengthen their skills, but also their emotional resilience eg. helping them with anger management, with demonstrating affection towards their children, empowering them.

Vilma is the mother of one of the children who used to regularly attend the UBECI playgroups. Neither she nor her son have been at the market in recent months as she has been diagnosed with cancer and has been struggling with both her financial and emotional situation. Her son hasn’t been able to get the help with language and school work he used to get from social workers in UBECI’s playgroups. When UBECI learnt about the family’s circumstances they started assisting her son with additional educational material and regular home visits to support his education. Vilma has also benefited from joining the UBECI mother workshops, where she has had the opportunity to share her experience and has received valuable support from UBECI and other mothers.

UBECI recognises that together with helping children directly in the playgroups, there is at times additional work that is needed to strengthen the child’s home environment, through the provision of wider support and encouragement to mothers, who struggle to make ends meet with their meagre market earnings and who are sadly often victims of abuse at the hands of their partners.

UBECI wouldn’t be able to provide this assistance to the indigenous children in the markets of Southern Quito without your continued support. Thank you!

The ViaNiños Team