Location – Quito, Ecuador
The Project – Over recent years, Condor Trust has helped more than 100 young Ecuadorians attend secondary school and/or higher education. Some of the first students taken on during the early years of the project have graduated from university and now flourish in professional jobs, demonstrating how successful the whole cycle of support can be. In 2022, two students were accepted into the army, against fierce competition and are now in training for a new life and new career. Another student from 2014 has graduated as a doctor and is already working in the rainforest.
Our Support – Our funds allow the provision of uniform, books and school materials to enable children from low or no income families to attend secondary school in the city, with the ultimate aim of helping them complete their education, find a job and break the cycle of poverty.
At the start of the pandemic, Condor Trust were supporting 38 young people, of whom 26 were in secondary school and 12 in higher education. Happily, all the students finished the 2019 academic year with high enough grades to go on to the new year of secondary schooling (in Ecuador, students who do not reach a certain level have to repeat the year).
All of the 8 students supported by the LATA Foundation started 2020 enthusiastically, before the onset of COVID-19. Six joined the Trust and two were continuing students. Most of the new students were aged 11 or 12, in the first year of secondary school. Several of the new students were able to take advantage of the guitar and violin lessons available, as well as the free eye tests and glasses, which separate funding from a Swiss charity allows Condor to offer.
Schools then closed and reopened and closed again. Now in 2023, the LATA Foundation is delighted to be able to continue the support of this amazing NGO as they face the ongoing challenge of dealing with education post pandemic, with schooling having moved online for so many months. We will make further funds available to continue the work in the new school year from mid 2023, with schools reopened. It is so important to continue educational support during challenging times for the country.
How can you help? – Donate £200 to provide the uniform, study books, writing materials, exercise books and educational equipment needed for a student to attend school for one year. Donate here
Further information – Condor Trust understands that financial help is often not enough, and in addition provide a range of academic, pastoral and sometimes medical support to ensure that students can benefit fully from their education.
The NGO has a fundraiser based in the UK and so we are privileged to be able to work in conjunction with her, to make the money work even harder.