Less work and more education for children in Quito

UBECI’s social workers and psychologists have continued the valuable work on the project dedicated to socially disadvantaged indigenous children in the markets of Sangolqui’, Turismo, Guamani’ and Chillogallo in Southern Quito started in 2005.

Assisted by volunteers, the social workers play with the children at the market and provide assistance to the children and their families on educational and health issues, as well as psychological support. The social workers also help families to register their children with the state, find a school place for them and help them access medical care.

UBECI encourages the children to open up, gain confidence and talk to staff and volunteers about their problems. Only through the efforts of UBECI do these children often get access to urgently needed medical or psychological assistance or the opportunity of receiving an education.

UBECI’s social workers, psychologists and volunteers are currently providing support to about 700 girls and boys and have been able to reconnect with 85% of the families they supported before COVID struck.

Together with assisting the children, strengthening social and life skills for mothers and improving the wellbeing of the family is also a main focus of the UBECI team.

UBECI staff in the playgroups and workshops use a variety of media to communicate with children and parents, including images, music, dance, puppets, and art.

UBECI uses ‘story telling’ in the playgroups as an educational tool for the children, including situations from their daily lives that they can identify with, for example, maternal love and the sacrifices made by mothers for their children’s good, to highlight the positive aspects of their family environment and as a way of strengthening their sense of empathy and security.

The stories often relate to aspects of their lives such as their ethnicity, roots, customs, and are aimed at strengthening their self-confidence, improving their relationship with their parents, teaching them to respect and appreciate their family and other children at school and in the playgroups.

UBECI has been working with the children and their mothers through the story telling project to assist them in rebuilding self-esteem and confidence in their abilities. Topics covered include how to make the right decisions, taking care of your emotional health, an appreciation for multiculturalism and maintaining cultural identity.

Other areas covered by means of storytelling included:

1. Leadership, focussing on values and self-confidence
2. Gender, focussing on legal and social equality
3. Education and multiculturalism, working on motor, socio-emotional and cognitive development
4. Recreation, fostering voluntary participation as an individual right
5. Prevention, improving quality of life by encouraging preventative health measures

UBECI’s hard work and your financial support has meant that educational activities have continued at pace, enhanced to cater to the changed circumstances post-COVID, providing a more holistic support, including to wider family members.

Thank you!