CRS Work in Ecuador

Through the implementation of its five program areas: Agriculture and Environment (Rural Development); Microfinance; Education, HIV and AIDS; Peacebuilding/Civil Society/Global Solidarity; and Emergency Management, CRS/Ecuador seeks integral solutions to the complicated situation affecting the marginalized sectors of Ecuadorian society.

CRS/Ecuador works in partnership with institutions of the Ecuadorian Catholic Church and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Strengthening the institutional capacity of these local partners to sustain development projects over the long term is one of CRS/Ecuador's primary objectives.

Some specific examples of our work include:

Strengthening of Community Banks in Cotopaxi

This project improves living conditions of poor families in Cotopaxi through the strengthening of community banks. These banks extend credit and promote savings in an effort to improve sustainable self-management principles. Typically, between 25 and 30 women from a marginalized urban or rural area work together to save, discuss and seek solutions to local problems that affect them, and receive small loans based on a solidarity guarantee.

Migration, Organization, Communication and Legal and Psychological Support

This project challenges the negative effects of migration by promoting interactive virtual communications, creating permanent family ties, and providing complementary psychological and legal counseling

Support Our Youth

This project contributes to the country's effort to eliminate the worst forms of child labor on the banana plantations and in the flower-cutting industries through education.