Ecuador

Traditionally an agrarian country, Ecuador experienced a boom in the 1960s following the discovery of oil. This brought rapid industrial development and great progress in health, education and housing, but the extra money fuelled inflation and boosted consumer imports, increasing the foreign debt.

In the 1980s, the economy fell into decline. IMF-inspired austerity measures and privatisation, have generated widespread unrest, primarily among the indigenous poor, who did not benefit from the boom as much as the Spanish-descended elite, and who cannot afford higher fuel prices.

ActionAid in Ecuador
ActionAid UK supports the work of our Spanish sister organisation, Ayuda en Acción, in Ecuador.

Ayuda en Acción works with many scattered and isolated communities, helping grassroots organisations to gain legal status and run projects to revive local culture and cooperation between communities.

They also work with communities in areas such as education and vocational training, income generation, natural resource management and land legalisation and help communities to take control of their own development.

In Quito we run health and education programmes with street children, and have set up organisations run by the children themselves, where they learn about their rights. In the tropical rainforest area of Napo we work with local communities on eco-tourism, health, natural medicine, farming, forestry and small business development.

After floods and volcanic eruptions in 2002, we worked with local health authorities to bring relief to affected communities and help them rebuild their homes and prepare for future disasters.

photo : ©Ayuda en Accion