Funding also supports psychological care for 87 students

(MissionNewswire) The San Patricio Basic Education School, located in Quito, Ecuador, had the funding to help improve quality education for 190 youth in poverty. The donor funding came from Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco.

Salesian missionaries completed teacher training and provided school kits and school uniforms to the students. The funding also provided comprehensive psychological care for 87 students identified with emotional or behavioral needs with personalized follow-up and emotional regulation activities.

In addition, the funding supported 30 students with help with reading and writing and 28 students with mathematics. Ten students were identified with specific educational needs not previously diagnosed.

One of the students supported was Jorge Mathias Galeas Culqui, aged 13, who once worked on the streets selling empanadas. When his mother went to prison, he was left alone in Ambato, until his grandmother managed to raise money to bring him to Quito. Today, they live together in a small warehouse in a park.

A Salesian explained, “In previous schools, he had been teased for wearing the same clothes and shoes and not being able to pay fees or participate in activities. But at San Patricio Basic Education School, Culqui found something different. He enjoys a real understanding and support of teachers who not only teach, but who believe in him. Now, after two years of studying, Culqui is enjoying his school accomplishments. He discovered that he likes to speak in public and wants to be part of the student council. He attends events at the Salesian University and hopes that one day he will be a student there.”

Another student, Mónica Alexandra Chimbolema Chillagana, aged 17, has grown up at the school. Her siblings also studied there. When Chillagana was 10, she was diagnosed with an intellectual disability. While she and her mother worried what that would mean, the school’s response was that she would be supported and educated without exclusion.

Today, Chillagana is the best math student in her course. She solves exercises on the blackboard with confidence and helps her classmates. This is her last year at the school, and she is ready to continue her education so that one day she can work at the United Nations or an international foundation, helping others.

Salesians provide social development and educational programs across Ecuador to help youth who are poor gain an education and the skills for later employment. The skills they learn ensure they are able to care for themselves and their families while being contributing members of their communities.

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Sources:

Photo courtesy of Salesian Missions (contact for usage permissions)

Salesian Missions – Ecuador

UNICEF – Ecuador