Plan Ecuador: what we do

Plan’s work in Ecuador covers 4 key programme areas, all of which are rooted in the rights of the child:

• Survival
• Development
• Participation
• Protection

This programme promotes the exercise of children’s and adolescents’ rights so that they can live in a safe, healthy, caring and stimulating environment.

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Plan Ecuador

Plan started working in Ecuador in 1963, in the urban marginal areas of the City of Guayaquil. Today, more than 500,000 children participate in our projects across Azuay, Bolívar, Cañar, Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, Guayas, Loja, Los Ríos, Manabí, Pichincha and Santa Elena provinces.

We work in over 1,000 communities, promoting rights and a decent life for children and their families.

Our main target groups are children and teenagers who live in situations of inequality and vulnerability, and whose rights are infringed, as well as workers with disabilities and other groups in need of special protection.

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What do the girls of Ecuador dream about?

All girls have dreams. In Ecuador, not all girls can fulfill these dreams. More than 60 per cent of people live in poverty in Ecuador, including 3 million children. So what do the girls of Ecuador dream about? Their futures.

Plan asked 1,200 girls aged 12–16 to write a letter to the Ecuadorian government listing the barriers they face from reaching their potential and to support them with national policies to fight gender inequality. They were also asked to draw their their hopes for the future.

Here's what the girls of Ecuador dream of growing up to be.

Case study: Fighting HIV with Stepping Stones

Alexandra Villavicencio, an HIV positive mother from Guayaquil in Ecuador, has turned her life around and started fighting HIV in her community, with help from Plan’s Stepping Stones workshops.

When Alexandra was diagnosed with HIV she was torn apart when her family abandoned her, she was fired from her job and then discovered that her baby son was HIV positive too.

“It’s really horrible to feel alone, without family, without anyone’s support,” she said.

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Inspiration in the classroom: Former sponsored child returns home to teach

Growing up in a poor family in the highlands of Ecuador, Gloria Ermelinda knew what it meant to work hard.

During her younger years, Gloria grew up as a sponsored child with Plan. She began attending school and learned the importance of education – something we value here at Plan. It’s a lesson she learned well – one she now shares with a new generation of children as a teacher. Gloria now stands in front of eager groups of students, teaching in the very school where she was once a student.

As the only one of her nine siblings to complete high school, Gloria places great value on education. She hopes her own children grow up to become working professionals one day, or maybe even a teacher! After all, teaching runs in the family – her husband is a teacher, too!

Gloria and her husband are inspirations. With both of them teaching at neighbouring schools in Ecuador, we hope their stories motivate generations to come.

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