Ecuador is a small South American country that is located in Western South America, between Colombia and Peru.

The country is rich in petroleum resources, but as the economy is reliant on exporting petroleum it suffers in a climate of volatile prices.

Ecuador suffered a devastating ecomomic crisis in the late 1990s which left 45% of the population living below the poverty line.

Social problems were compounded by a succession of short-lived presidents.

Sadly for Ecuadorians, the number of people living in poverty is rising and unemployment stands at 9%.

The country has now found itself below the UN targets in the Index of Human Development for Latin America.

The rise in poverty levels has had a negative effect on the nation’s poorest children, with 21% of 5-17 year olds forced to engage in work of some sort.

“An important group in this siuation are the thousands of Ecuadorian children and adolescents who, for one reason or another, have been forced to sacrifice their childhood, their education, their health, their rights and even on occasions their dignity, in order to dedicate a substantial amount of their time earning money through work,” commented a 2005 report by the Ecuadorian Ministry for Work and Employment.

The average age of these working children is 13, despite a law that states 15 as the minimum age for employment.

Barely 60% of child workers attend school and 25% will not finish basic primary education, compared to 8% of non-working Ecuadorian children.

More boys than girls are forced to work, and the rate of child workers is higher in rural areas, although forced urban migration is causing the number of child workers in cities to grow.

Figures collected by the Ecuadorian government show that 8 out of every 10 working children are carrying out tasks that are considered ‘dangerous’.

“Child labour in Ecuador is not just a serious problem because of its magnitude but also because of the high level of risk entailed and the young ages at which children begin working,” concluded the Ecuadorian Ministry for Work and Employment in 2005.

Sonrisa has recognises that working children suffer throughout Latin America and other developing regions of the world.

While we aim to raise awareness of the plight of all these children, we fundraise exclusively for the Centre for the Working Girl in Quito, Ecuador, because we have seen first hand how its policies are helping working children and we want this lifeline to continue saving young people and their dreams.