EDUCAPODER is an intensive education, training and community empowerment program that works to help marginalized youth in Ecuador develop the critical leadership skills to improve their lives. Educapoder targets marginalized indigenous adolescent girls, the most vulnerable members of the community, by enabling them to complete general education while strengthening their cultural identity, self-esteem and inclusion in decision-making forums in an active way. In effort to affect comprehensive and sustainable change, Educapoder also works with families, teachers and the local government to further prevent gender-based violence and child abuse.
Funds raised will be used to support Educapoder trainings and peer tutoring for adolescents. During the training, adolescents will learn how to develop dialogue about their rights, participate in decision-making in the community, and advocate for issues affecting their daily lives such as violence against women, child labor and reproductive health. By completing the 6-month Educapoder program, they will be better equipped to deal with child labor, sexual exploitation, teenage pregnancy and gender-based violence and fight for the improvement of living conditions in their own communities.
The funds will be used to help Educapoder continue to provide leadership skills training workshops for marginalized youth. These workshops enable youth to become peer tutors to others, supporting youth clubs, student councils and encouraging participation in the government. CARE hopes to provide continued support to these peer tutors and expand the number of youths being reached by the project.
Funding will also be used to provide training to teachers, community members and child protection workers to support and improve youth participation and education in the program. The trainings will provide them with the ability to effectively communicate with and best provide needed services to marginalized youth.
Indigenous girls are traditionally marginalized in Ecuador. Most are victims of violence, start working at a tender age, and have dropped out of school. More than 20% become teenage mothers, often through violence. Many migrate to towns and become vulnerable victims of exploitation. This situation is perpetuating a cycle of poverty and violence which is a severe obstacle for Ecuador’s development.
Educapoder is changing societal perspectives for and about girls. Girls are learning to recognize their rights, participate in decision-making and civic action. Illiterate parents are learning to recognize girls as persons with rights and taking action to involvement in heavy, hazardous labor.
Empowered girls can change the living conditions in their villages. They can become professionals and earn an income. They can make their own decisions instead of following others. They don’t need to rely on the charity of others, but have the dignity of being able to solve local problems by themselves. This makes them less likely to become teenage mothers and to be victims of exploitation and violence.
A team of four local specialists from CARE Ecuador will train a group of indigenous adolescents, boys and girls, to identify the main issues related to education, participation and gender in their communities and to become facilitators of development processes among their peers. The training is conducted through six weekends. 140 adolescents will be trained to become peer facilitators, reaching a total of 1,100 adolescents.
The team is also working with teachers, child protection workers and community members to raise awareness about the marginalization of girls and gender-based violence, promoting participatory action to address those issues. A coalition of local actors (adolescent groups, civil society representatives, child protection institutions and local government) is supported to defend girls’ rights and prevent abuse.
Lawrenceville, GA
About Me: I live in Lawrenceville, GA with my mother and grandmother and attend AGS. Science, math, and electives like art and archery are my favorite things to learn about at school. My two top places in the world are the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica, which I visited on a class trip in 2009, and Cedar Point, an amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio. If I could try to solve any global problem, I would focus on human rights and the environment. I hope to use my internship in Ecuador to widen my horizons and learn more about funding education worldwide.
Atlanta GIrls School ..
Atlanta, GA
Jordan S.
Marietta, GA
Kim F.
Lawrenceville, Georgia
Stacey F.
Lithonia, GA
Stacey F.
Lithonia, GA
Atlanta GIrls School .. donated to EDUCAPODER: Education that promotes Empowerment! - 11 months ago visit the project
Jordan S. donated to EDUCAPODER: Education that promotes Empowerment! - 11 months ago visit the project
Kim F. donated to EDUCAPODER: Education that promotes Empowerment! - 11 months ago visit the project
Stacey F. donated to EDUCAPODER: Education that promotes Empowerment! - 11 months ago visit the project
Stacey F. donated to EDUCAPODER: Education that promotes Empowerment! - 11 months ago visit the project
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