Capital: Quito
Area: 283,560 km²
Population: 13.5 million (July 2006)
Ethnic groups: mestizos, Amerindian, Spanish, and African origin
Official language(s): Spanish
Religion(s): Roman Catholics
Currency: 1 US dollar = 100 cents
SOS Children's Villages' activities in the country
In 1963 Gerhard Engel, who founded the first SOS Children's Village in Ecuador, first got in touch with SOS-Kinderdorf International with the aim of bringing Hermann Gmeiner's idea to the country. Over the years it was possible to build the children's village in Quito, situated in the capital, which lies in the Northern Andes. It has a total of twelve family houses and was built entirely from donations made by companies and private people. In 1978, Father Mariani from Italy founded SOS Children's Village Esmeraldas in co-operation with the curacy of Esmeraldas.
Because of the ever-increasing poverty in Ecuador, more SOS Children's Villages were opened over the years to provide the weakest of society, children in need, with the security of a family. Furthermore, SOS Youth Facilities were added for the youths who had outgrown the SOS Children's Villages. Here they can prepare themselves to be able to live on their own.
Between 1991 and 1994, six SOS Social Centres were built in the poorest parts of Quito. They are day-care-centres where the children of working parents and single-mothers are looked after during the day. When a border controversy between Ecuador and Peru broke out in 1995, SOS Children's Villages started a four-month long SOS Emergency Relief Programme on both sides of the border where food was distributed to the refugees. A further SOS Emergency Relief Programme was put into action in 1998 when the "El Niño" caused terrible flooding in the Manabí region. Many people were left destitute. SOS Children's Villages Ecuador provided the villages with food, medicines, school equipment and seeds.
In the early 2000s SOS Children’s Villages Ecuador started to operate Family Strengthening Programmes, which enable children who are at risk of losing the care of their family to grow in a caring family environment. To achieve this, SOS Children’s Villages works directly with families and communities to empower them to effectively protect and care for their children, in cooperation with local authorities and other service providers.
At present there are six SOS Children's Villages, five SOS Youth Facilities, one SOS Vocational Training Centre, and 11 SOS Social Centres.