Street children - Ecuador

only  £2700

Street children

Countries:

Ecuador

Duration:

3 Months

Call:

0845 344 7588

  

more info:

click here

 

This placement would suit:

People who want to help out at a valuable, grass roots project. You would have direct contact with the humble communities of Quito and work as a valuable member of a small, passionate team of volunteers and permanent members of Ecuadorian staff.

 

Cost details:

£2700 for three months. Each additional month is £475. The price also includes unlimited health, public liability and baggage insurance, Spanish CD course, an excellent two-week Spanish course with one-to-one tuition, local transport, full weekend trip, comprehensive in-country support, membership of South America Explorers Club, thorough UK and Ecuador briefing, teacher training course, fundraising advice. All volunteers are individually met and briefed in the UK.

 

     

Product Details

The Cenit street children project offers health care, basic education, love and support to over 800 children. They live extremely tough lives on the streets of Quito and have low self esteem and low life expectancy.

The project is located in the Panecillo area of Quito near the bright, colourful Camal market. It has good, spacious buildings spread over three floors and a ‘safe’ play area for children. It was set up in 1991 to help the huge number of children living and working on the streets. It primarily (but not exclusively) helps young girls because they particularly suffer from sexual and physical abuse. Like their brothers they spend up to ten hours working every day but in addition they also tend to be responsible for looking after their younger siblings.

CENIT is an NGO that offers them shelter, health care and an education. It serves over 1,000 girls and family members every year. This includes long-term follow up to endure that the children spend less time on the streets and reduce their grinding poverty that they are conditioned to accept. (There are several other projects in Quito that focus on helping street boys).

Volunteer Responsibilities

Working children are not capable of finding the CENIT building by themselves. Volunteers are needed to go out onto the streets and market areas every day in well organised groups. You take the children clean drinking water, food and help with basic first aid and medical care. Importantly you would also be equipped with educational games, puzzles, ball games, books and art materials to work with the children in their working areas. Activities emphasise fine-motor skills, creativity and group cooperation. They provide a welcome respite from work and also encourage children to return to full time education. Often the parents are running market stalls but like to join in with the activities. The stalls double up as sleeping shelters at night.