Origins
In 2000, the Children of Ecuador Foundation developed and implemented a sponsorship program to enable Ecuadorian youth to continue their education. Since then, more than 150 children per year have received financial support from the Foundation. This number tends to increase since every year, children who graduate from the daycare program are added to the list.
Indeed, even if education is compulsory in Ecuador until the age of 15, the poorest children remain without quality education that would allow them to train for a future career. In fact, 85% of dropouts occur between the ages of 15 and 18, and this often coincides with the birth of a first child.
A sponsorship program has therefore been set up to create a pool of sponsors in Quebec, who are paired with young Ecuadorians to finance their education, from daycare to university.
The sponsorship program is very much supervised by the Foundation and the personnel present in Pascuales, who know the children and their families very well. In Pascuales, the people in charge of the sponsorship program make sure to maintain the children’s link with their parents and update them on their educational progress. As a donor, you are guaranteed that your donations will be used to pay the child’s tuition fees or materials. Each year, the Foundation is committed to providing sponsors with a copy of their sponsored child’s report card, a photo, and a small letter wherever possible.
PROGRAM ADAPTED TO THE CURRENT NEEDS
In order to motivate children to prioritize their studies, the sponsorship program was established in 2016, and awards significantly larger scholarships at the end of compulsory education (at age 15: after which the majority of children drop out of school) all the way up to university.
In addition to this sponsorship program, the Children of Ecuador Foundation offers “super bursaries” to the top students, enabling them to finance their studies in rewarding fields such as medicine, law, computer science and accounting.
Our graduates then play a key role as a volunteer at the Foundation. For example, Felipe, a former beneficiary of our program, and currently in the last year of odontology, who offers his services to the Foundation … or Natalia, the current doctor of sponsored children.
Ultimately, the Foundation will be able to become autonomous from these (very expensive) services, thanks to the community of sponsored volunteers.
$ 25 / month
It is the amount necessary to set up this support, from daycare to university in 2016. We also specify that the Children’s Foundation of Ecuador does not retain any administrative costs for the management of donations , Unlike the other major sponsoring NGOs. In other words, 100% of the money collected is used to finance students’ schooling.
To sponsor a child, simply send a crossed check (for a monthly deduction) or a check with the annual amount of $ 300 to the Children’s Foundation of Ecuador.
4388 rue Saint-Denis #200, Montréal, QC H2J 2L1
A tax receipt will be sent to you and will allow you to recover between 35 and 66% of your donation as a tax credit.