About us
Supporting Ecuador’s working children for a brighter future.
We are a charity dedicated to transforming the lives of working children, and marginalised youth in Ecuador, empowering them to build a brighter future for themselves and their families.
Through strategic partnerships with grassroots NGOs in Ecuador, we support targeted education and support programmes, with a strong focus on indigenous girls and women. Our partner organisations have decades of experience in combating child labour and poverty, offering educational opportunities, financial aid, decent work, and strategic guidance to break the cycle of hardship.
1. Sustainable impact
For over 20 years, we have provided consistent support to our partner organisations, ensuring they have the financial stability to continue their work. We guarantee at least one year of funding in case of unforeseen changes, allowing them time to secure new resources.
2. Local leadership and decision-making
We believe in local solutions for local challenges. Instead of micromanaging, we trust our Ecuadorian partners to make the best decisions for their communities, ensuring culturally relevant and effective support.
3. Strong and trusted partnerships
Nearly all our team members have worked within our partner organisations, fostering deep, long-term relationships. We maintain regular visits and ongoing communication to ensure transparency, trust, and aligned goals in our mission to create lasting change.
By working together, we can empower Ecuador’s most vulnerable children and youth, breaking the cycle of poverty through education, economic opportunity, and community-driven solutions.
Organisations we support
We proudly collaborate with three partner organisations in Ecuador, funding essential salaries for teachers, social workers, and psychologists. To break barriers in education, we provide scholarships for underprivileged students, ensuring they have access to quality learning. Additionally, we support community health by supplying vital medicines to the CENIT clinic, helping improve lives every day.
CENIT
Based in south Quito, CENIT (The Integrated Centre for Childhood and Adolescence) has been helping working children – especially vulnerable girls – since 1991. It operates a school for poor, disadvantaged children, and runs outreach playgroups in two markets. CENIT’s work is wide reaching and inclusive, incorporating health, social and psychological support, education and vocational training. CENIT has a team of around 15 local employees, plus local and international volunteers. Every year, CENIT reaches out to some 400 children and their families.
ViaNiños supports CENIT by funding salaries, including social workers, education specialists, and teaching staff as well as outreach workers.
Sor Dominga Bocca
Sor Dominga Bocca is a home for 22 girls aged between 3 and 18 years in Guayaquil, Ecuador. These girls are no longer able to live with their families due to domestic violence, abuse or as a result of abandonment. A team of psychologists, education specialists, a social worker and a cook look after the girls in a family environment. They pay particular attention to their psychological healing as well as integrating them into mainstream schooling. The social worker and care workers strive to establish and maintain contact with the children’s families. Following primary and secondary education, Sor Dominga Bocca supports the girls to go on to further education or training. ViaNiños funds the salary for one psychologist.
UBECI
UBECI Foundation is a small organisation working with particularly vulnerable children in Quito’s markets since 2005. Every day, the outreach workers are working in different markets with support from international volunteers. They focus on social and educational interventions with the children. UBECI staff also work to integrate the children into mainstream schooling, offering homework support for older children. They also work to give them access to healthcare. On top of that, they run workshops for parents on topics such as values, human rights, child labour, domestic/child abuse and its prevention, which are a vital part of the programme.
ViaNiños funds the salaries of two outreach workers and two child psychologists, giving the children the opportunity to build a brighter future.
Our Volunteers
Our volunteers from Germany, Switzerland and the UK are passionate about supporting our partner organisations. Many of us spent time volunteering with CENIT and UBECI and have experienced firsthand the needs of our partner organisations and those of the working children and families in the markets in south Quito.
Other volunteers have also visited CENIT and UBECI to see how our funds are used locally and making an impact.
Our Grant Donors
We are grateful to our kind grant donors who support our ongoing projects.
