Backpack of opportunities

In Ecuador, most women in poverty start their working day in the markets at 3am. Children as young as two accompany their mothers to the markets to assist in bagging produce and tending stalls. These mothers have no choice but to bring their children to work with them, in order to protect them from the streets, where they would be vulnerable to crime and substance abuse.

Although education is free in Ecuador, most of these families have sold in markets for generations and do not see the value of education, and hence raise their children in the markets with them. Or if they do send their children to school, most of them are illiterate or cannot afford to buy essential school supplies.

The UBECI Foundation is a nongovernmental organization that has been providing services to the street children of Quito Ecuador since 1999. UBECI provides educational services, recreational activities, and social support to over 600 at-risk children, so that they have a break from their work in the markets, and more importantly, an opportunity to obtain a brighter future.

Alongside these services, at the beginning of every school year UBECI provides these children with school support workshops and school kits that they cannot afford. However, in order to do this, it will cost $5000 to provide for all the children in UBECI’s current reach.

Every school kit costs around $12 each and includes notebooks, pencils, pens, colored pencils, crayons, erasers and glue. With a small donation you can have a huge impact on a child’s life.