Why Ecuador?

Ecuador is a republic in the northwest of South America between Colombia and Peru and has a population of around 17 million. The capital is Quito, located in the Andean highlands (Sierra) at an altitude of around 2850 m. The landscape is diverse: fertile coastal plains, the high Andes with their mountain climate and finally the dense, hot and humid Amazon rainforest in the east. Most Ecuadorians live in the coastal plains and in the Andes. The rainforest is mostly the home of indigenous people.

Ecuador has been going through a severe economic crisis for several years. Under the conditions of the Corona pandemic, the structural deficiencies have become even more acute. The social gap between poverty and wealth is very large. Although Ecuador is now a middle-income country, poverty is still enormous in rural areas and affects mainly indigenous people and Afro-Ecuadorians. Social inequality was high before Corona and continues to be so, although a positive change has become visible in recent years.

The proportion of people living below the national poverty line fell from 36.7 percent to 25 percent between 2007 and 2019, and the proportion of extremely poor people fell from 8.5 to 3.6 percent. Annual gross income has risen from the equivalent of 3,330 to 6,090 US dollars (2019) per capita since 2007, but has stagnated in recent years. However, the corona pandemic has now set the country's development back years.

(Source: https://www.bmz.de/de/laender/ecuador/soziale-situation-10364).

It is common practice for children of the appropriate age to attend primary school. However, many children do not continue their education. Because of poverty, many children and young people have to work to support their families. The children then have little time left for school. In addition, schools are rare in rural areas. There, radio is the most important medium.

Niza Aragundi describes violence against women, many single mothers and an increasing alcohol problem among men in the families and also many children with disabilities in the families as major difficulties from which the women and children suffer - in addition to their financial poverty.

Status: April 2022

MAKIPURANA

A new, non-governmental organization initiated by KETAAKETI

MAKIPURANA ("Helping Hands" in the Quechua language) is a non-governmental organization initiated by KETAAKETI and founded by Niza Aragundi (currently still in the registration phase) whose goal is to help women living below the poverty line and to create a financial support network for their personal and family development. We are happy that Niza Aragundi, a specialist in the design, implementation and monitoring of social programs in countries in Latin America, Asia and the Middle East, is now working closely with us. The intensive contact between Niza and KETAAKETI has existed for about 6 months.

(As of February 2022).

Niza explains: "MAKIPURANA is an Ecuadorian non-governmental organization dedicated to developing social intervention projects focused on supporting low-income and vulnerable women. Through donations from KETAAKETI, the organization supports groups of Ecuadorian women to start or improve their businesses, the main idea being to create a network for financing and mutual support among community groups.