The Advancing Life Foundation, the charitable giving entity of ASEA LLC, has partnered with us to build a vocational school in rural Ecuador. This school will be the first of its kind in this area and give opportunities that will have life changing implications.
The building will be in the Intag region, a remote farming and mining community in the Andes in northern Ecuador. Its roughly 17,000 inhabitants sparsely populate mountainous agricultural lands. Most college-age youth in the region, as high as 90 percent, are not attending college because the area simply does not have educational institutions.
“Most of the young people have migrated to other places because we do not have sufficient educational opportunities in our town,” said Councilman Marcello Vergara.
The vocational school will not only provide immediate opportunities for higher learning; it will create greater long-term self-sufficiency as students learn valuable skills. Graduates are expected to be able to significantly increase their contributions to their communities as well as increase their income, some by as much as two or three times.
In addition to donating funds, two groups of volunteers have traveled to Ecuador to help work on the structure. Working side-by-side with CHOICE Ecuador personnel and locals, the first group of volunteers for ASEA began construction this summer.
Though the work was grueling, the smiles were broad and the laughter was loud. Experience the details of the first expedition here. And stay tuned for information from the second expedition and construction updates.
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