Rotarian Jeff Loeb talks about the UBECI program

At our meeting of December 5^th, Jeff Loeb addressed the Club about a program called “UBECI”, a program created to help the urban poor of Quito, Ecuador. The program targets the young children of poor market vendors in Quito who have to work with their families and rarely get the chance to go to school, as well as the rural poor around Quito. The goal of the program is to help them get into school and hopefully to break the cycle of a complete lack of education in their families. UBECI works with the children in areas like pre-reading skills that are routinely taught here. According to Jeff, they work in 8 markets and serve about 300 children per week. Jeff is a Rotarian himself and he has been speaking to Rotary Clubs in hopes that he can raise Rotarian sensitivities to the needs of these children and potentially get some support for the program. Here are the stated goals of the program:

“OUR GOALS FOR UBECI CHILDREN

To reduce their working hours
To teach them:
- academic and social skills needed to succeed as adults
- lessons on good nutrition and hygiene
To provide them medical care when needed
To enroll them in school and track their progress so that they will complete their primary and secondary studies and eventually enroll in universities
To give academic assistance to children in rural underserved communities “

This is the link to the UBICI website and it gives all the detailed information about the program. Please visit the site and see the good things that are happening for the market children in Quito. http://ubeci.org/site

Jeff’s presentation was well received by the Club who asked him many questions about the program and how it ran. Club members may be interested in looking at UBECI as a program with which the club may partner as an international program.

Megan McGee (21)—USA

“Volunteering with UBECI was one of the most enlightening experiences of my life. Many times, as a young person, it is difficult to see the impact you have on the world around you. With UBECI, the feedback is instantaneous. Despite any language barrier you may have, the reward is in the smile you receive, whether it be from a staff member or a child from the market.”