The importance of GVI Phoenix secondary school scholarships in Ecuador

The GVI Phoenix and GVI Charitable Trust's secondary school scholarships program offered to our communities in Ecuador is a tremendous opportunity for the children and has been met with overwhelming excitement, and at times even tears of joy.
Children who once thought their education would end at the age of 12 or 13 now realize they have an entire new world of opportunities open to them.

The average rate of transition into secondary school is less than 10% for indigenous children in Ecuador. In our communities we are now looking at an 80% transition rate into secondary school for next year!A secondary school education in Ecuador is extremely important if the children want to be anything more than a farm worker or day laborer. Secondary school in Ecuador costs approximately $300 per year.In the western world this figure may seem miniscule, but in the communities we work in (where some families are living on $1 per day) the cost in unimaginable.

Children in our schools were previously told not even to think about continuing their educations - there was just no way a family could feasibly find that amount of money, plus it was a huge burden to take a person able to work out of the home or the field.

With GVI Phoenix´s help in covering the school fees, along with our meetings with the families to discuss the importance of continuing education, many parents are willing to give their children a chance to be something more.

In turn we are hearing children talk of being teachers, doctors, and all sorts of exciting things.

It is great to see that the parents are starting to think of the long term, rather than the short term when it comes to their childrens´ futures.

While an extra body in the field might earn an extra dollar today, a well-educated member of the family and overall community will have enormous financial and physical benefits in the future.

Our goal is to educate the children in the schools now, so they will be able to give back to their communities in the years to come.

The children in this entry will all be going to secondary school this September.

The importance of GVI Phoenix secondary school scholarships in Ecuador