“Together with the Ministry of Education and the country’s education ecosystem, we’ll create a more resilient and inclusive education system.” – María Antonia Gonzalez, RET Ecuador.

Press release by RET International

QUITO, ECUADOR – RET International is thrilled to announce the launch of a new, transformative project aimed at enhancing the education and well-being of children and adolescents in Ecuador, targeting refugee, migrant, and host communities. This initiative, generously funded by a Multi-Year Resilience Program grant from Education Cannot Wait (ECW), will target 42,700 children and adolescents through 2027, ensuring they receive the quality education they deserve.

Since 2014, around 7.7 million Venezuelans have been displaced, with 6.5 million residing in other parts of Latin America and the Caribbean. Ecuador has faced significant challenges with the large influx of refugees and migrants, compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, economic and political instability, and rising violence. These factors have severely disrupted the education of many refugee, migrant, and host community children.

Despite notable efforts by the Ecuadorian government, including the Quito Process initiated in 2018 and the Regularization of the Status of Venezuelan Refugees in 2022, the demand for resources continues to outstrip availability. More than 20% of school-aged Venezuelan refugee and migrant children, and about 5% of Ecuadorian children are out of primary school, with this number rising to 10% for secondary school.

RET International, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education of Ecuador, Plan International, Child Fund, and the Ibero-American Institute of Natural and Cultural Heritage of the Andrés Bello Convention Organization (IPANC-CAB), will lead this comprehensive project. This consortium will work to address the educational needs of these vulnerable populations.

RET’s country director in Ecuador, María Antonia Gonzalez remarked: “Together with the Ministry of Education and the country’s education ecosystem, we’ll create a more resilient and inclusive education system – addressing the educational needs of refugee and migrant children and their host communities in the face of multiple crises in the country, and addressing intersectionality and localization to improve the impact and sustainability of the MYRP.”

This new initiative by RET International and its partners will ensure access to safe and inclusive education, support retention, and strengthen holistic learning outcomes. It aims to bolster existing public policies to improve the resilience of Ecuador’s education system and guarantee the right to education for all children, including refugees, migrants, and those from vulnerable host communities. Strategies include efforts to enroll out-of-school children and enhance holistic education opportunities, including improved access to mental health and psychosocial support.

“Education is a lifeline for children living in Ecuador. In all, two out of ten refugee and migrant children are out of school. And violence, economic uncertainty, and insecurity continue to plague the nation and the region as a whole. We are calling on world leaders to urgently step up funding. Our investment in education is our investment in the vast potential of Latin America’s children and youth,” said Yasmine Sherif, Executive Director of Education Cannot Wait.

Alegría Crespo, Minister of Education in Ecuador, emphasized the importance of inclusive education: “In the Ministry of Education, we promote inclusive education as a fundamental pillar to guarantee the right to education of children and adolescents, regardless of their nationality. In this way, Ecuador has become a regional benchmark for its inclusive regulations. The Multi-Year Resilience Programme has been a key programme for joining efforts and articulating actions at the national and territorial levels, under the principle of ‘leaving no one behind.’”

Assessments indicate that around 70% of children are not meeting minimum proficiency levels in language, literature, and math. Issues such as lack of safety in and around schools, high rates of gender-based violence, xenophobia and discrimination, and a high prevalence of teenage pregnancy also pose significant challenges.

RET International is committed to making a lasting, positive impact on the lives of children and youth in Latin America and the Caribbean. With the generous support of ECW and the dedication of our consortium partners, we are confident that this new project will bring hope and opportunity to thousands of young people in Ecuador.

For more information on RET’s work in Ecuador, please visit: https://theret.org/ecuador/

For more information on ECW: https://www.educationcannotwait.org/

About RET International

RET International is an impartial, neutral, independent NGO with experience delivering critical education and protection programs in 34 countries to over 2.4 million program participants. We bridge the gaps and build resilience and self-reliance in groups made vulnerable by violence, armed conflicts, and disasters – from refugee adolescents and youth in refugee camps to displaced communities in urban and rural settings. Our mission is to alleviate suffering and catalyze sustainable development in crises, conflicts, and fragile contexts. We are amongst the leading NGOs in most crisis and post-conflict contexts to provide tailor-made solutions and relevant programs to bridge the gaps and respond to the real needs and challenges of the communities.

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For press inquiries: Ben Dwork, b.dwork@theret.org

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