Children’s Outreach Providing Education for Child Labour at the Markets

  • The Project

    It’s a sad reality to see children, often as young as three years old, working upwards of ten hours a day in the markets, streets and countryside of Ecuador to support their financially struggling families. This intervention program takes a very proactive approach, traveling to the markets around greater Quito, approaching children and their parents to talk to them about the importance of education and early childhood development. Additionally, the staff and volunteers set up tents at the markets where they offer opportunities for thematic early childhood education, including recreation, health/hygiene, values, identity, and education. By meeting these children on their turf, the program has achieved great success in recruiting and maintaining attendees to the pre-school programs, along with an ultimate reduction in the childrens work hours and matriculation in public schools.

  • Why the project needs you

    Working with large volumes of children, this project needs as much assistance as possible to reach the thousands of young children working in these markets and provide the attention needed to provide an education. Volunteers get to work directly with over 160 children who are enrolled in this program and witness first-hand the consequences of a globalized, market economy that has made the struggle for poor, subsistence communities even more of a challenge. The presence of Western volunteers also provides added interest and incentive for these children to join in the program.

    Project Location

    Quito is surrounded by natural beauty, by the mountains ringing the city, some volcanic, some with white capped peaks, lushly forested hills and a fertile valley. Long before the Spanish arrived, Quito was a busy place. It was a major Inca city and was destroyed by the Incas in a scorched earth policy that only briefly halted the Spanish invasion. Sebastián de Benalcázar recognized the city's location and founded San Francisco de Quito on top of the few ruins left him. The founding date, December 6, 1534, is celebrated annually with the Fiestas de Quito.

  • Project Facts

    • Duration: 1 week- 1 year
    • Cost: £835 ($1461) for 2 weeks, £165 ($289) for each week thereafter
    • Requirements: Age 18+
    • Location: Quito, Ecuador
    • Project activities: Discussion groups, social activities, team building exercises
    • Working hours: 9:30 am – 12 pm; lunch break 2 – 4:30 pm, Monday - Saturday
    • Project Availability: Year-Round, with summer camps during June – August.

  • What is included

    • Accommodation: Home stay with hot, running water, and electricity
    • Food: 3 meals per day – Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
    • Airport pick up
    • Training: Pre-departure pack, on-site orientation and project induction included
    • Support: 24 hour staff support
    • Local SIM card: All volunteers are given a local SIM card to use in their mobile phones. The network of the SIM is Porta and your phone must be unlocked to be able to use it
    • Excursions planning: Staff will help plan activities and excursions (activities may cost extra)

  • What is not included

    • Flights
    • Insurance
    • Visas
    • Optional Spanish classes available at $6/hour.

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