Karina & Ruth

Karina and Ruth (names have been changed), 10 and 12 years old, are two sisters that are involved in CENIT's programs. Their family moved to Quito from the rural province of Cotapaxi in search of a better way of life. However, upon arrival in the city the family found themselves facing extreme poverty and backbreaking working conditions. They all work making bricks: between the various family members they average 150 bricks per week which hardly provides enough income to provide for the family. Karina and Ruth became involved with CENIT and began to study at our primary school where they received classes in subjects such as writing, math, sciences and social sciences. After visiting their home and seeing the reality in which they live, CENIT found resources to help them attend a school specifically for children with learning disabilities. Currently the children attend this school in the morning and CENIT's homework help center in the afternoon.

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Bread Classes

Aim

This project aims to facilitate the participants in bread and pastry making, to form a social group, and to impart upon the women some helpful skills for starting their own panadería.

Project Information

This program meets once a week for roughly five hours. The participants elaborate products and then sell them the same afternoon during school recess at CENIT. The program tries to auto-finance itself, meaning that the supplies for the following week are bought with the profits of the previous. The objective is not only to sell the maximum amount of bread each week, but also to leave the participants with the skills to elaborate many different products.

Volunteer Requirements

The volunteer for this class must be at CENIT for a minimum of two months, and must speak an intermediate to advanced level of Spanish. They should have some experience in bread and pastry making, especially in large quantities. The volunteer for this class is responsible for teaching the class, for buying the supplies and managing the finances for the program.