By Benjamin Blevins | Executvie Dircector.
According to the World Health Organization data, Ecuador has been one of the hardest-hit nations in Latin America to the impacts of COVID-19
Jorge Wated, who heads a government task force charged with collecting and burying bodies in Guayaquil, the epicenter of the outbreak, said that in the first 15 days of April, 6,703 people had died from either COVID-19 or natural causes. Previous to the coronavirus outbreak, he said, the monthly figure was around 1,000.
The Riobamba and Chimborazo region has posted 74,013 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 5,313 linked deaths as of July 19th, according to the World Health Organization.
In the current conditions, schools are closed, and International English teaching volunteers are prohibited from traveling to Ecuador. Therefore, it is not possible at this time to continue the programming as designed.
Guadalupe Ramirez and Ben Blevins from the Highland Support Project visited the Chimborazo region in March for coordination with the Rotary Club of Rio Bamba for an irrigation project with the community of Chismalte. In that visit, a discussion started about forming a model of education based on the "free" school movement that explores liberating pedagogy with practical skill development to enable Indigenous people to stay on their land, in their community, and with their culture.
Right now, there are so many variables with how the epidemic is going to unfold, and it is not possible to develop short term plans for adapting. We are going to temporarily close down this project as we dialogue with partners about the best strategy to address discrepancies in access to education for Indigenous communities.
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