Project Summary

Whether your interest lies in human rights, social services abroad, social work or girls’ empowerment, this is a placement for you. The project consists of working with a non-profit organisation based in Quito which focuses on female adolescents that have been victims of sex trafficking in Ecuador. The NGO works together with the government, receiving the girls that have been rescued and offering them a safe environment to recover while helping them with the legal issues that their situation implies and finding them a safe family as well as including them in the educational system. The NGO is also involved in activities to promote awareness against sex slaves.

In Ecuador, over 75% of victims of trafficking have been sold into sex slavery. In some cases, the victims have been sold by their own family in exchange for money. If that’s the case, and because they are minors (under 18), they are paralysed by the law on their official status, which is where the local NGO comes into play. So once a female adolescent has been rescued of sex trafficking by the government office in charge, the NGO receive the person at the “healing” home, where the NGO is given the right to be the legal tutor for a period of 3 to 6 months. As soon as they arrive, they are enrolled in a public school, but cannot attend regular classes due to their protected status, so the school send them the homework and books needed for their education, and the local centres’ educators teach them and supervise their homework. During this time, the girls also receive psychological, social and legal support. They are given the opportunity to work with psychologists, social workers, teachers, legal counsellors and others to help them during this time of transition as they reinsert themselves in society, obtain a legal status and rebuild their self-worth and confidence. Some of the victims are at the centre with their children as well and they receive attention as well.

Why choose this program?

The local NGO needs additional resources but is lacking the funding. Depending on your skills sets, you can provide assistance with administrative tasks, fundraising, teaching sessions, social work, creative art workshops, and many other activities to support the victims in their recovery processes. The girls you will be involved with have suffered from the most tragic forms of violence, and it will be a very rewarding experience to work achieve the NGO mission and support those girls emotionally as they rebuild their confidence level and their trust towards others in society.

You have the choice to focus on many different aspects that you want to focus. In general, you will be asked to accompany the girls individually or in a group to go to their workshop, actively encourage them to participate, talk to them and help them build trusts and relationships. Your participation and the bond you build will help the girls learn about the world and realise that there is another better world they might not know about.

Skills Required

Interns should be strong emotionally and be willing to remain discreet and keep sensitive issues confidential. You should also bring your positive and open attitude and willingness to help the girls at the centre and the NGO team to make the most out of this placement.

You will be asked to submit a full CV/resume and letter of motivation upon application. You will be asked to attend a telephone interview to discuss your experience and assess your suitability for this internship. You should also possess the equivalent of a B2 Spanish Level.

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