La Ribera Workshop House
One in four children born in Ecuador is the son of a teenage mother. [1] One in four children has a mother between 11 and 20 years old. According to the report of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Ecuador is the country with the highest teenage pregnancy in Latin America. This is a serious social problem, with costs for the son, the mother and his family. The son of a teenage mother is more likely to be born prematurely or have low birth weight. A teenage mother is more likely to suffer from anemia, malnutrition, high blood pressure or even pre-eclampsia. Pregnancy can also affect your education, your job and your income. Teen pregnancy can trap the child, mother and family in poverty. [2]
The majority of teenage mothers are between 15 and 17 years old. In 2016, 23,809 children were born to mothers in this group. But there is also a high number of mothers between 10 and 15 years. In the same year, 2,115 children of mother girls were born. [3] These girls are often victims of abuse and rape. Teenage mothers, then, are vulnerable girls and young people. As a country we must ensure the protection of their rights.
Faced with this serious problem, La Ribera Workshop House aims to promote the right to education and autonomy of teenage mothers and young people to improve their living conditions and future opportunities. The project activities are structured around three specific objectives:
1.- Strengthen the educational community for the reintegration and permanence of teenage mothers and youngsters.
a. We have directed tasks, leveling courses, vocational guidance, school reintegration, among others.
2.- Develop life skills, empowerment and resilience in adolescent and young mothers.
a. We teach Leadership Schools, positive parenting and art therapy workshops, personal and family therapies, etc.
3.- Promote the economic autonomy of teenage mothers and young people through the development of technical capacities.
a. We coordinate business internships, technical training, associative ventures, among others.
Our three pillars, then, are Education, Personal Empowerment and Economic Autonomy. Our goal as Casa Taller La Ribera is to break the circle of poverty and vulnerability that traps teenage mothers and their families.
[1] According to the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC).
[2] According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
[3] According to the report of the Social Observatory of Ecuador, “Situation of children and adolescents in Ecuador, a look through the Sustainable Development Goals.”