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Latin American Studies 87
Spring 1999
Ecuador: Case Study 1999
Anna Steinhardt
CASE STUDY
COUNTRY: Ecuador
PROGRAM: Centro Juvenil San Patricio
LOCATION: Fourteen kilometers outside of Quito, the capital
city of Ecuador. Another center is located in Bogota, Colombia as well.
SPONSORSHIP OF PROGRAM:
The Inter-American Foundation began funding them
in 1985 with an initial grant of $10, 000. Other private funding.
HISTORY OF PROGRAM:
None available/found.
APPROXIMATE NUMBER OF CHILDREN SERVED:
No information found.
CHARACTERISTICS OF CHILDREN SERVED:
The Center only serves boys ranging from age 11
to age 16. They must either have no family or have previously broken away
from the family structure.
HOW CHILDREN ARE RECRUITED/SELECTED:
In order to stay at the Center, boys must first
spend a certain amount of time at "Mi Caleta." Mi Caleta is a transitory
shelter for street boys needing basic services. Its goal is reintegration
of street boys into their families or into either of two shelters: La Grange
Don Bausch or Center Juvenile San Patrician.
PROGRAM SERVICES:
The program offers a free elementary school to
all the boys. The Center also supplies occupational training that emphasizes
integration into working society. The vocational skills that they learn
include carpentry, mechanics and electrical work. The program also offers
comprehensive preventative and curative health services. Regular religious
activity is an integral part of the boys’ daily lives. The boys are offered
religious education and support. All boys participating in the program
live at the Center.
PHILOSOPHY OR APPROACH:
The main objectives of the program are to provide
the boys with an integral education enabling them to reintegrate themselves
smoothly into society. The ultimate goal is reinsertion into their families
and the community as an educated and conscientious Christian who is capable
of contributing to society. There are a number of specific objective of
the program which include the following: 1) to reintegrate the youth’s
personality through education and close personal care of each youth, 2)
to maintain a family atmosphere through personalized treatment as well
as a profound respect for the youth so that the youth feels comfortable
voicing any problems or thoughts freely, 3) to reintegrate the boys into
their families through intervention techniques promoting family relations
and strengthening a family and community sentiment, 4) to give the boys
a sense of responsibility to social, political and family events in such
a way that the boys can now have a new life projection in an evangelical
light, and 5) to establish support programs that contribute to the development
of the youth.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
As part of the "Reintegration of Personality" intervention
program, the Center divides the boys into 10 groups called "families."
Each group has a coordinator and a sub-coordinator. Every Friday, the group
convenes to evaluate the group’s and individual’s behavior. At the same
time, the coordinators meet to evaluate the progress of each boy. The Center
sees these evaluations as critical in monitoring the progress of each child.
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