News

Guayaquil opens the doors to Western Tourism

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 14:04:17 +0100

Despite being the largest city in Ecuador, and its most important port city by far, Guayaquil tends to find itself off the standard tourist circuit. With a brand new airport and probably the most extensive bus terminal in the country, Guayaquil is already a significant travel hub, serving as a gateway from the jungles and mountains of the east to the west's relaxed coastal region and the Galapagos Islands beyond. However, despite its many cultural offerings, most tourists traveling through Guayaquil rarely stay longer than the hour it takes to depart on a connecting bus.
With this in mind, as well as with a desire to improve the city's image amongst its own population, the government set aside millions of dollars over the past decade to focus on an extensive beautification campaign. Compared to other major cities in Latin America there are few historic buildings of note, but major renovations to parks, levees, boardwalks and important sections of town have turned Guayaquil into a central location for fairs and international events.
Perhaps the most noteworthy addition is the Malecon 2000, a two-and-a-half kilometer long boardwalk along the Guayas River. Kept impeccably clean, the promenade hosts an almost impossible collection of fountains, parks, gardens and monuments for its length, with a steady supply of shops and restaurants along the way, making for a constantly interesting walk. The Malecon ends with a cluster of varied museums at the base of the Barrio de las Peñas, the picturesque hillside district that looms in the distance from nearly anywhere along the Malecon.
Once an impoverished area, the tightly bunched hillside houses of the las Peñas district have been completely revitalized, painted in a wide array of vivid pastels for a breathtaking appearance at any distance. Mixed in with local homes and small tiendas are Bohemian art studios, museums, shops and playhouses, culminating in a 500 step (each one clearly numbered) up to the top of the lighthouse with a wide vista of the entire city.
For guests looking to experience the heart of Guayaquil, boutique hostel Manso is located just across the street from the center of the Malecon, offering immediate access to some of Guayaquil's best offerings. Recently opened by a young local couple, the hostel boasts phenomenal views, tactfully themed rooms and an extensive menu with many creative vegetarian offerings. The staff is well educated as to the varieties of activities available to guests, making the hostel a fantastic starting point for any expedition into Guayaquil.
Hostel information:
www.manso.ec
Rosi Villacres, 09 603-4054

Pan de Vida Cures the needs for the poor

Mon, 3 Nov 2008 17:23:24 +0100

Developing countries face uphill struggles all over the world. Whilst trying to break into capitalist mindsets and by making huge profits many get left behind. The result is poverty, malnutrition and a lack of education. Many of you can walk onto the streets now and see the results of children trying to sell sweets or clean shoes to make a living. Unfortunately they have little other choice but to earn the few pennies they can each day for their family.

There is no cemented state system in place to help these children and Pan de Vida is one of the few privately run charities that are addressing the problem.
Business consultant, Oscar Aguirre, studied in the USA and created Pan de Vida when he returned to Ecuador. “I couldn’t believe the amount of poverty that I saw and the way poor children were rejected by everyone,” says Aguirre.
Oscar Aguirre took it upon himself to make a change and, with the help of the English Fellowship Church, he created Pan de Vida.
“Our first meal was rice, ham and scrambled egg which was seven years ago,” says Aguirre. And while some charities charge up to $3000 to volunteer for a couple of months Pan de Vida says ‘just come along and help.’

Apart from feeding the poor, the charity also provides education, attends to health requirements and has a clothes shop where every item, which has been donated from all over the world, costs $0.25. “One guy donated a really nice leather jacket and it was still sold for a quarter,” says Aguirre.
Despite being a seemingly impossible task Aguirre says, “You take the starfish story where, after a storm, a passerby was throwing starfish back into the ocean. Although he had miles and miles of starfish to save, he picked up another, threw it back in the ocean and said ‘it made difference to that one.’”

Saving Ecuador’s children

Wed, 1 Oct 2008 17:51:11 +0200

Ecuador has just one children’s hospital in the whole of the country. It is now over 40 years old, but since its creation back in the 70s not a single hospital dedicated to children has been built. The hospital relies on donations and volunteers to help the children who come from hundreds of miles around to receive treatment.

Executive Projects, who raise social awareness in Quito to new students, last month raised over $430 in a night for the charities Fundacion Por Una Vida and Fundacion Cecilia Rivadeneira. The former is dedicated to care for children with cancer and the latter foundation visit the children with games, toys and play games with them.
Project Manager of Executive Projects, Rebecca Viani, says, “It’s a chance for us to participate in social work and raise money for good causes and also an opportunity for people to see another side of Quito when they come here to study.”

Created 18 years ago, Fudacion Por Una Vida raises money and awareness to support families that have children with cancer. “We pay for many of the costs that families have to bear including treatment, medicine and transport to and from the hospital”, says Executive Director, Maria Eugebia Vaca. “It is difficult for a lot of families because they simply don’t have the money to pay for their children to get better.”

On average, for a child to be saved from cancer the cost is in the region of $8000 which is the equivalent to two years standard wage in Ecuador. For this reason many do not receive the treatment that they need to get better.

Fundacion Cecilia Rivadeneira is a group of volunteers that visit the children with toys and games to ‘put a smile on their face.’ Ivan Mora leads a group of volunteers every fortnight to the hospital. “The idea to make them laugh, sing to them and make them happy,” says Mora. “We currently have in the region of 100 volunteers that help out during the weekends between their jobs and their studies but we are always looking for more.”

For more information

Fundacion Cecilia Rivadeneira http://www.ceciliarivadeneira.org/

Fundacion Por Una Vida www.fundacionporunavida.org

Company raise money for sick children

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 14:38:24 +0200

International students based at the Universidad San Francisco in Quito have raised money for two children’s foundations in the city.

Newly arrived students attended a party at Mulligan’s bar, where they raised $436 for the Fundacion por una Vida and Fundacion Cecilia Rivadeneira.

The event was organised by Executive Projects, a business enterprise that also raises money for foundations who work with the Baca Ortiz children’s hospital in Quito.

Above: Rebecca Viani has overseen many changes in her four year tenure

Rebecca Viani, project director at Executive Projects, said: “We went to the Universidad San Francisco saying we had a good idea for a charity event and they were up for it.

“This is our third party, we did one in January, one in early summer, and now this one for the fall semester as well.”

Students paid a cover charge to enter the event which included a performance by a top local band. All profits went to the two charities.

Rebecca Viani added: “Overall the party and event was a success. The students were thankful to us for organizing an event in which they could all get to know each other and we genuinely had a wonderful time organizing everything.”

English Colonel to the rescue

Thu, 4 Sep 2008 20:14:03 +0200

Colonel John Blashford-Snell and his 20-strong team successfully provided clean water to the Cofan Tribe in the Oriente last month, returning on August 19.
To supply clean running water and aid to the Cofan tribe, the team had to force their canoes through Piranha infested swampland matted with weeds that were “rather like a green version of polar ice floes,” in the words of the Colonel. The Cofan tribe are hunter gatherers who had their tourist industry decimated when “a number of people were kidnapped by FARC,” explained Colonel Blashford-Snell. “This caused all the embassies to tell people not to go there.”
To complicate matters further, oil was also discovered in the area and oil companies dumped surplus oil on the land whilst drilling. The Cofan eventually drove the corporations off the land with shotguns and bows and arrows, but their water remained contaminated by oil for years. The expedition’s Hydrogeologist, Olivia Patterson, said that the new water system provides water “as clean as the tap water in England.”
To make the work worthwhile, Colonel Blashford-Snell puts great emphasis on sustainability. “It’s all very well giving them expensive equipment, but it’s useless if they can’t maintain it,” he said. “They are quite intelligent people, it’s just that they need training.”
The expedition also brought boats laden with medical supplies, tools and schoolbooks. Joel Somerville, the optometrist, had collected glasses to distribute, and Leonie Chandler, the Botanist, described eye tests where people were asked: “can you thread the needle?” because the locals couldn’t recognise letters. In recent years, many Cofan have left the land in search of jobs in cities. Now, it seems that tourism may be the only option for the community’s survival. The group helped to develop an ecotourism centre with showers and a WC, so that the Cofan can once again become self-sufficient.
As well as an improving economic and health prospects for the community, the expedition mapped sections of the swampland and rediscovered The Pink Dolphin, previously thought to be extinct in the region. Carol Eid and Melanie Bell discovered evidence of a much earlier civilization when they came across a highly decorated ceramic jar, thought to be up to 800 years old.
“Nobody had brought this degree of aid before,” said Col. Blashford Snell, whose group were rewarded by a traditional Cofan dance for their work. “They said they had never danced for anyone before,” said the Colonel, whose expedition introduced the Cofan to Haggis and Scottish Reeling on Burns night.
“Its just a wonderful backwater,” said Colonel Blashford-Snell.

Charity provide real help

Thu, 4 Sep 2008 20:12:33 +0200

Every weekday, from 8am to 5pm, Fundacion ABEI provides support to incurable patients and their families. The operation is funded by charitable donations and patient’s families, who pay $2.50 for day care, $3.00 for medication and $30.00 monthly care.
“We don’t get government help,” said Ximena Ramirez, one of the 40 full time workers in the children’s hospital on Alejandro Luna Andrade & Ayacucho, just off 18th Septiembre. The annual cost of running the operation is around $250, 000, and the hospital takes donations of clothes as well as cash. “We can try to help them to speak to prepare them for life,” said Cecilia de Rocco, one of the hospital’s coordinators. Foreign volunteers constitute an important component of the day to day running of the hospital. “We need volunteer collaboration always in all areas of our work,” said Ximena Ramirez. It is possible to just turn up and work, administering medication and feeding the children. Cecilia de Rocco, who has lived in England, mentioned that one of April’s bus crash victims had intended upon working with Fundacion ABEI. “She had a friend working here and she said that she would come to work here too, when she returned from the beach.” The girl, whose name Cecilia de Rocco could not recall, was killed on the coast. “She was a very good girl; a very pretty girl,” said Cecilia de Rocco.

Amazonas causes chaos

Thu, 4 Sep 2008 20:11:06 +0200

The renovation of Amazonas, a main commercial street, caused mixed feelings during August in Quito as the work disrupted trade and diverted city funds away from needy areas. Fiscal, the city authority, is carrying out the work in an attempt to rejuvenate the Amazonas Boulevard, making it as attractive to tourists as ‘Plaza Quinde.’ The $400,000 project, originally to be finished by the first of September, is a cause of some controversy in Quito whose poorer districts lack paved roads. Fonsal says that the rejuvenated boulevard will have six different types of paving stone, including a relief pattern along the roadside, so that the blind can navigate. The electric system will be buried and more bins, street lights and benches will be added. There will also be a cycle path. Amazonas will have “A new shine,” in general, they say.

Luis Iza, who lays electric cables on the site, said that work started on July 16, but could not give a definite finishing date for the project. “There are about 50 workers here, employed by the fiscal.” “The pay is good,” he added. Business people who plough their trade between Avenues ‘Colon,’ and ‘Patria,’ have not been so amused by the cash flow situation.
During the work, however, pedestrians had to leap across gaping trenches in the road and navigate rickety gangplanks across mud to reach under-stocked kiosks, while drills and bulldozers shake the earth and fill the air with dust. “We have seen a big decrease in sales,” said Estephanie Vinoesa, whose shop sells hats and leatherwear to tourists near Colon. The tourist market is not alone in its peril. “Much fewer people come through here,” said Jovito Carrera, who works at ‘The Time Centre,’ a watch shop near Jeronimo and Carrion. Adrian Rodriguez, who works in a car park nearby, stated that “the car park gets much fewer customers.”
If successful, however, Amazonas’ new look will move the centre of tourism from Plaza Quinde, distributing lucrative commerce down the whole Boulevard.
“The road will be much nicer, with better lighting and so on,” said Julio Romero, a porter at the Raina Isobel hotel. He said that although the construction is a nuisance, “It will be worth it.”

Tourism safety improves

Mon, 4 Aug 2008 20:47:25 +0200

Tourism, both domestic and international, seems to have had an impact on Quito’s crime rate.
“The government can’t supply jobs for everyone,” says Amgel Guerrero, a residential security guard, citing unemployment as a root of crime. Café owner Jorge Macas, who ploughs his trade on 6 De Diciembre & Mariscal Foch, said: “There are delinquents all over Quito,” citing another.
However, increasing numbers of Western businesses and cafes, many of which hire security guards, are slowly strangling these problems.
John Potts, a business partner at Happy Gringo said that: “When we started three years ago, it was just me and my business partner. Now we have an office with five or six Ecuadorians.” Mr. Potts estimates that his business indirectly offers work to up to fifteen other guides, accountants, chauffeurs and lawyers.
The 54% increase in tourism that the city has seen in the last five years has also lead to government action to improve the streets. A branch of the Police force, Servicio de Seguridad Turistica, has been designated to helping tourists (both domestic and foreign), in Quito. “About 80 units patrol the Mariscal area from 8:00am – 11:00pm,” said Técnico David Chamba. “We basically operate in tourist areas, so we also patrol the Old Town and Museums. Some of our Office staff are bilingual,” he said.
Quitenians have also benefited. Jose Manuel Vembo, owner of Micromercado Calama, said that: “tourists have helped the situation.” “It’s dangerous, but better than before,” he added. Alfredo Rodriguez is a security guard stationed in Mariscal Foch. “This area is much safer than it was 20 years ago,” he said.
Amgel Guererro estimates that there are around 50 companies that supply security guards to private businesses in Quito.
“Our job is slightly different to that of the Police, because we are employed by a particular client and not by the municipality,” said Duval Llanos, who is stationed outside Coffee and Toffee. “If I see a crime being committed in the next street, it is not my responsibility to abandon my post and take action.”

Government seizes three TV channels

Mon, 4 Aug 2008 20:44:28 +0200

When banking brothers Roberto and William Isaias’ unpaid debt (claimed by the government to stand at around $661 million), was not paid to their depositors after a decade, the president decided to take drastic measures, seizing nearly 200 of their business group’s assets.

The 1998-2000 failure of a series of Ecuadorian banks cost the country $2 billion and initiated the switch from the Ecuadorian Sucre to the US Dollar as a national currency. 60,000 creditors lost about US$350 million when Filanbanco (Ecuador’s largest at the time), went under. The bankers’ Roberto and William’s Business group ‘Isaias’ is now being ravaged by the Ecuadorian government in an attempt to seize enough assets to sell to reclaim money for the depositors. 195 of the group’s companies have been grasped, as the Isaias brothers are left powerless in their waterfront homes in Florida, USA. They face charges of embezzlement, and the Ecuadorian government is pressing for their extradition.

One of the more controversial aspects of the Ecuadorian Government’s action is the seizure of three Television channels – Gamavision, TC Television and TC Noticias. A cousin of the Isaias brothers, Gamavision president Alvaro Dassum, claims Gamavision has nothing to do with Filanbanco and has no business ties to the bankers. "I protest and reject this arbitrary seizure," he said. The strenuous family connection is thought by some to have been used as an excuse to gain control of the airwaves just as Correa needs public support in an upcoming referendum. Recent polls suggest the he will fail to get his desired 50% of the vote. This theory was coined by El Universo newspaper. Although the affected Television station personnel and the Inter-American Press Association are upset, Ecuador’s two largest television stations remain unaffected by the seizure, and openly criticize the government.
"In no way does the government intend to control or interfere with freedom of the press," said Economy Minister Wilma Salgado.
The state Deposit Guarantee Agency hopes that they will raise around $200m from the sale of the seized properties.

Do volunteer companies want your contribution or your money?

Thu, 3 Jul 2008 15:24:38 +0200

If you want to volunteer in Ecuador, there are many paths to choose from, some more scrupulous than others…

As the torrential Amazon rain pounded the roof of the Ecolodge HQ, Gap-Year volunteer Jason Smith, 19, began to wonder exactly what he had paid £3,650 (note: British Pound Sterling), for. For a 5 month assignment volunteering in a variety of locations, working on conservation projects, and teaching in a rural school, the fee may sound hefty. However, when Jason arrived, he was told that the school was closed for two months, and that he would just be doing admin in the Ecolodge HQ. “There was almost no work to be done. It was a massive disappointment,” he said. Although Outreach, the charity supervising Jason, did eventually set him up with another project to work on, it was “completely unrelated to the Conservation and Teaching work I had originally come out here to do.”
Stories of rip-off volunteer organisations are not uncommon. The charity
‘i to i,’ for instance, charge $2,045 for a four-week conservation stint on the Galapagos. Volunteer South America, meanwhile, offer the same service for $1,006, with student discounts available. A spokesman for i to i said that she was “not aware of other charity’s set ups,” and that she suspected that the money charged goes “largely to the coordinator’s fees.” Robin Shackell of Volunteer South America, said: “I think an interesting avenue to explore is why you need to pay an organisation at all. In short, you do not.”

“I think it was really pretty easy to do everything I wanted to do without an organization,” said Courtney Wong, who volunteered independently in Ecuador with great success. “Doing this lets you be a lot more flexible and allows you make decisions based on your feelings about a situation once you've already been able to see how things work,” she said. “The only set plan I had when I got to Ecuador in February was to go to a women's artisan cooperative (Los Colibris). I thought I'd stay about 3-4 weeks, and then move on to whatever else, but I ended up staying for 5 weeks.
“If you feel confident enough about finding a placement on your own, speak enough Spanish etc, then there are plenty of opportunities out there. A significant number of volunteers are not at that stage and want help and support. That is where organisations like mine fit in,” says Robin Shackell. Although Courtney Wong herself made use of several useful contacts in the US to find volunteer work, she said that: “even if someone doesn't have the kind of luck I did in finding people at home with ties to Ecuador, I think its totally feasible searching for projects and programs on the internet that don't have program fees.” Courtney sited ‘Idealist.org,’ as a good place to start. The site currently lists 185 separate programs you can join in Ecuador. “I ended up getting to do a lot of really interesting and fun stuff while I was in Ecuador, and I think absolutely for much cheaper than if I had done any kind of program with a fee.”
While Courtney managed to live for as little as $12 a day, her fellow volunteer and friend, Alison, feels “thoroughly ripped off” by ‘Volunteer Aboard.’ The Canadian based organisation made it seem as if an orientation program was necessary prior to taking part in a volunteer project. This program included compulsory Spanish lessons, which were “pretty useless,” to Alison, who was proficient in the language anyway. The nastiest shock, however, came when Alison discovered that if she had gone directly to the placement organisation she worked with on conservation (La Hesperia), she would only have paid about $400 for 4 weeks. “I paid approximately $1650 for one month in Ecuador,” says Alison. If you take into account accommodation (a small flat in the city centre costs $200 per month), there is still a $1000 deficit. “Paying $1000 for a week in Quito is ridiculous. Especially since I feel I didn't need any of the
"teachings" they gave us in Quito, and was basically conned into thinking it was necessary to do so before I went,” said Alison.

Differences in price can often be partly justified by extra services, but it is up to the individual to decide weather what is on offer is worth the extra. “I would argue that it is not,” says Robin Shackell. One has to be very careful in choosing which organisation you are going to pay for, and it might be worth checking out the refund schemes too. Jason’s partial refund doesn’t cover the cost of his air tickets back to Britain. “Needless to say, when I am back in England the company will be receiving a formal complaint.” Jason classified his organization as ‘Royally shit.’

Correa in car crash but is first to attend the casualties

Thu, 3 Jul 2008 15:21:53 +0200

When President Correa’s motorcade collided with a car, which cut across the Ecovia, the Ecuadorian premier was the first to attend to one of his own wounded bodyguards. The incident has reinforced faith in onlooking Ecuadorians that their president is still the benevolent leader they elected more than a year ago. At around 8:30am on Wednesday, June 11th, the Ecuadorian president was heading North along the Ecovia. At the intersection of 6 de Deciembre and Wilson a car crossed the Ecovia, hitting and dismounting one of his escort motorcyclists, halting the motorcade. As bodyguards swarmed around their boss’ limousine, President Correa emerged, and rushed to his motionless bodyguard lying on the road. The president and other officials stayed on the scene while police accumulated and an ambulance was called. True to Ecuadorian custom, there was soon a large traffic jam, caused by curious motorists who had stopped to have a look. Correa, 45, was trained as an economist in Europe and the USA, but spent years living amongst the Ecuadorian indigeonous community and speaks the native Quencha. He describes himself as a “Christian of the left”, and his hands on approach at running his country have gained him a 62% approval rating as of March this year. Once an ambulance arrived the traffic was waved on (by the president himself, amongst others). The Ecuadorian premier has been criticized for nationalizing natural reserves, raising corporate taxes, and being in league with Fidel Castro Hugo Chavez (Correa describes the Venezuelan president as being a personal friend). However, new taxes have largely targeted the wealthy members of society, who “didn’t used to pay any tax on their cooperation to the government before,” says Dalia Montuando, who has a small business trading fish in Quito; “so now the rich hate him, but everyone else is happier.” There were cheers from crowds assembled on the pavements as Correa returned to his car, waving to the onlookers. Correa has criticized his predecessor’s decision to use the US dollar in Ecuador, and said that he was convinced that the USA aided Colombia in their March 1st invasion of Ecuador. In light of this conviction, Correa has pledged to remove a US antinarcotics surveillance base from Manta. Correa has also refused a free trade agreement with the US. The crash scene incident inspired admiration from onlookers and those who were subsequently told about it. “It certainly raises my opinion of him,” said AJ, an American expatriate living in Quito. Dalia Montuando says that the US government is unpopular with Ecuadorians. “People used to burn the American flag every so often,” she said. This sentiment is echoed to some extent by Correa, who responded to Hugo Chavez’s liking of President Bush to the devil by saying the comparison was “unfair to the Devil.”

The Plaza Foch’s new arrival

Fri, 30 May 2008 14:18:23 +0200

A multi storey car park is to open in Mariscal within seven months. The new structure will dominate one corner of Plaza Foch, opposite the popular tourist hangout ‘Coffee Tree.’

When finished, the car park will be three storeys high. However, Jorge Espinosa, who works across the plaza in Azuca, said that “It won’t be too tall, as the car parking storey will be underground.”

Cesa Jerrim, a foreman on the site, said that the building will also house a commercial area on the top floor. He told The Ecuador Reporter that “there will be a café area, as well as a Planet Sport shop.”

There is little concern that the structure will become an eyesore in the plaza, and locals seem pleased with the development.

Next to the construction site, Café owner David Camacho, director of Concha y Toro, said: “I don’t expect any problems. It is neither good nor bad.” Nearby, Lee Vinter, owner of Finn McCools, the Irish pub, was upbeat about the development. “The area is desperately in need of parking,” he said.

‘Constructora de Tohogar,’ a major development corporation, also responsible for the New British Consul building, is undertaking construction. Snr. Hugo Acosta R, President, confirmed that the car park will provide room for 29 cars, and that the commercial space upstairs is for rental by private companies.

Euere de Pepe Garcia, a construction worker on the site, told the Ecuador Reporter that he is happy with the work he receives. The ten workers currently involved with the construction receive an instant wage. “It’s quick money,” he said.

600 villagers get fresh water

Fri, 30 May 2008 14:14:53 +0200

Engineers Without Boarders has provided the remote village of Malingua Pamba with another welcome boost to their improving infrastructure. The village lies hours away from the nearest major town, Latacunga, and is accessible via roads which are prone to be destroyed by mudslides. The community drew its water from reservoirs several hundreds of feet above, through rudimentary pipes, which burst under the high pressure. The constantly disrupted supply led to a chronic lack of safe drinking water. Engineers Without Borders determined that 100% of the village’s 600 residents suffered from gastrointestinal issue complaints (parasites or amoebas), every year. Today however, thanks to numerous donations, hard work and especially the tireless efforts of one woman, the Denver chapter of Engineers Without Borders has arrived at Malingua Pamba, and it seems that help is at hand.

In 2003, Californian schoolteacher Pam Gilbert found herself stranded on a mountain pass at 10,000 feet after her guide got lost. When two boys from Malingua Pamba helped her out of the sticky situation, she resolved to thank them by becoming a benefactor of their farming community. The first project was to create a school, as the local children had to walk 2 hours at weekends to attend classes. Pam collected the $4000 needed to build the schoolhouse, which the locals built themselves. The new building is now two stories high, contains a decomposing loo, a teacher’s apartment, a library, 5 sewing machines, and the village’s first shower.

The EWB team

When the school was finished, Pam turned her mind to the health of the village. She first contacted Engineers Without Borders in 2006. During the charity’s first visit, the engineers lodged in the newly completed upper storey of the school building, and surveyed the water system to see what could be done. Last month, when EWB last visited, they installed pressure-break tanks, and laid stronger high pressure pipes, providing water to homes which were previously without. Several villagers, described by Ben Mapes, Vive president of the EWB Denver chapter as “local maestros,” have received basic training from EWB, and now maintain the water system themselves on a voluntary basis. “we did accomplish a lot with the partnership of the people in the village and we're happy with the trip,” Mr. Mapes said.

A major problem faced by the school, (whose computer and fax facilities are available to 6 other communities nearby), is understaffing. “The conditions are deplorable,” Pam said. “The teachers are hard to find, and they have to commute two and a half hours each way on roads which are often dangerous.” To date, Pam’s non- profit organization, Escuela Minga, has paid for the provision of teachers, who must make a 5 hour round commute from Latacunga. She hopes that the La Direccion Provincial in Latacunga will take on the staffing responsibility, and is meeting them for the 10th time to discuss the situation.

If you would like to help the cause, the school could do with volunteers to teach reading, art, sewing, and other skills. Please contact www.escuelaminga.org for more details.

Quito’s breath of fresh air

Fri, 30 May 2008 14:08:05 +0200

Just four years ago, the air in Quito was coated with carbon dioxide and sulfuric gases causing the citizens of the capital to turn sick and die of lung cancer. Government departments were issuing health warnings to Quitoñians to stay indoors and only go outside if it was ‘essential.’

There are today even more vehicles on road, more buses and more people but the air is cleaner largely in part due to the launch of CORPAIRE in 2004 that’s sole purpose is to make sure the air is clean for people to breath.

The man put in charge of the cooperation was Dr. Jorge Oveido, a former environmental health specialist.

The CORPAIRE website has detailed information on the air quality in eight different regions of Quito. For a city that has been so dirty in recent years the air now, according to the data on the website that has a five colour coding system, suggests the air is the best is can be.

“Four or five years ago the air quality was in the yellow,” says Oveido. “Today, however, it’s nearly always in the white.”

The largest factor involved has been to reduce the amount of sulfuric particles in diesel that buses and public transport uses.

“When I started in 2003, there were 7000 particles per million in diesel. Now there are just 500,” says Oveido. “The next aim is to get that down to 50 per million and we are working with the Ministry of Health and PetroEcuador to do so.”

The issue of clean air in Quito has stirred all departments all the way up to President Correa himself who is said to be firmly behind the projects to continue to improve the air quality in the city.

Dr Jorge Oveido

“There are many plans that we are considering at the moment to raise the air quality including the London model ‘congestion charge for the Centro Historico,” says Oveido. “Currently the traffic there is very bad but a congestion charge should ease traffic in that part of Quito.”

There are also plans afoot to link the cycle paths together in the North and South of Quito that shall encourage people to cycle to work rather than drive. A new space for bikes has just been set along Avienida Rio Amazonas in La Mariscal.

Tourists can also play their part in improving the air quality by taking public transport and walking to near-by destinations.