Education Tutor Center Health

Education Project

Overview

In Ecuador, 50% of the population lives in extreme poverty. One of the many effects of this poverty is the emigration of parents to other countries in search of work. This affects homes by damaging many important family relationships. Children and adolescents find themselves without direction, affection, or guidance. The majority of the children are left with grandparents, aunts or uncles, or guardins who are not able to properly support them. These children have little clothing and suffer from poor nutrition. As a result, they are often abused, don't receive education, and sometimes run away.

Education is vitally important to break this cycle of poverty. However, in Ecuador there is limited government funding and support of education. All schools, including public schools, require students to pay tuition and buy uniforms. Many children cannot afford these costs and are therefore denied an education. These children are suffering because of the lack of quidance, family support and an opportunity to receive an education.

Humanity Corps is partnering with Fundacion de Ayuda Humanitaria, FAHUM, in a program to help children in Guayaquil, Ecuador achieve an education despite these unfavorable circumstances. We will assist by providing children with scholarships that will fund tuition, uniforms and school supplies. Through these scholarships FAHUM will additionally offer tutoring, counseling and workshops for students and their families. In 2005 we are providing the opportunity for 150 children in the poorest areas of Guayaquil to go to school when they would not be able to otherwise. This program gives the children the funding as well as the guidance they need to succeed in their studies.

With this project we will help children and adolescents obtain a basic education that will save them from being illiterate. The ultimate goal is to provide the help students need to integrate themselves into society and become productive citizens.

Objectives

Award 150 scholarships to students between ages 5 and 13 suffering from extreme poverty in the marginal, urban areas of Guayaquil.
Provide, through the scholarship: tuition, uniforms, and school supplies.
Track students' progress.
Conduct workshops on personal development.
Educate students' families about the direct and indirect benefits of the program to strengthen family relationships within the home.
Re-enroll students who dropped out of school.

Duration

The project is to last for ten one-year cycles, each cycle being one Ecuadorian school year which runs April-December, so that a beginning student could potentially complete ten years of education. This is the minimum basic education necessary according to the Ecuadorian Ministry of Education. With this, students will obtain a basic level of education, become a literate citizen who is able to choose a future career and allow him to achieve his goals and become a productive member of society.

Budget

The cost for the program is $134 per student per year. This includes, for each child:

Tuition	$28
Uniform	$15
School Supplies	$25
Workshops and Family Therapy	$42
FAHUM costs	$17
Administrative Costs	$7
Total per student	$134

Time Line 2005

January: Enroll students in program
February: Informational meeting: The Necessity of Basic Education
March: Pay school tuition, dissemination of uniforms and school supplies
April: School year begins
    Informational meeting: Children's Rights
    Project Evaluation #1
May: Distribute more school supplies
    Conference: Self-esteem and Moral Values
    Workshop: Expressing Emotion
June: Informational meeting: Children's Rights
July: Distribute more school supplies
    Workshop: Communication
August: Workshop: Respect
    Project Evaluation #2
September: Distribute more school supplies
    Workshop: Discipline
November: Project Evaluation #3
December: School year ends
March-November: Monthly family therapy
    Sessions and daily tutoring

Meet the Students

Requirements for election of participating students:
Each family is interviewed and visited in their home by a social worker.
The requirements for a child to be able to participate in the program are some, if not most, of the following:

The household income is less than $200.00 per month
There are more than three children in the home
The family is being supported by a single mother
The children live with and are supported by their grandmother because their parents have abandoned them.
The children are orphans.

The children that have been chosen to participate in this program are those that are the most needy. In Ecuador, the measurement of poverty is on a scale from one to ten. The areas of Guayaquil in which FAHUM works is measured at a ten. This program is reaching the poorest of the poor.

Not all that ask to participate are accepted. Only those that fulfill the requirements.

FAHUM, Fundacion de Ayuda Humanitaria

Guayaquil is the largest city of Ecuador with 56% of its population living in extreme poverty where most basic need of healthcare, nutrition, clothing and housing are not being met. FAHUM is a non-profit organization in Guayaquil run by volunteers to assist the poor through projects in the areas of health, education, micro-business and the improvement of living conditions.

Pilot Education Program 2003-2004

In 2003 Fundacion de Ayuda Humanitaria, FAHUM, started a pilot education program under the direction of schoolteacher Alicia Escudero de Rivera, to provide the children the education they so desperately need. The great majority of these students had poor academic performance in previous years so FAHUM worked to provide the necessary materials for additional classes, extracurricular tutoring, homework help and tracking. FAHUM opened a center for this purpose and obtained a computer, typewriter, school supplies and a small library necessary for children to work on their schoolwork. Thirty children were involved in the initial pilot program.

The results of this program were that the students received the help they needed to remain in school and succeed in their studies. Students received explanations and help with their homework. They had access to materials such as paper, pencils, crayons, maps and books. Students also received evaluations of their work and behavioral and family counseling when needed. With the help of this program, the students raised their average score to 80% on their assignments.

Humanity Corps has joined forces with FAHUM to help them obtain the funds needed to assist 150 students in 2005. FAHUM is very effective in their administration of projects among the people they serve. Humanity Corps makes it possible for donors in the United States to share with the poor while receiving a tax donation from a U.S. based non-profit organization.

e-mail: teresafuentes@yahoo.com

website: www.fahum.org