Adolescents — Avanzar

Programs - Adolescents

AVANZAR has developed a number of humanitarian and educational programs aimed to help underprivileged women who wish to improve their lives and those of their families, as well as adolescents and children with illnesses and their relatives.

Personal Development for Adolescents

A long-term project to prevent unwanted pregnancies as well as STDs, reduce domestic violence, and increase the opportunities for young people with limited resources to have a promising future. The high rate of teenage pregnancies in the province of Azuay, of which Cuenca is the capital, 1 out of 10 teenagers are mothers, many of them between the ages of 10 and 14 (data from the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC)). The chances of these girls completing school or accessing higher education are almost nil, and this does not change throughout their lives, as they do not have the time, the money, or cannot find study opportunities for women with little schooling.

Thanks to the initiative of Melina Ammann, a dedicated Swiss volunteer, since 2021 AVANZAR operates a program for teenagers that welcomes girls aged 13–18 to workshops in which topics such as personal development, plans for the future, women's rights, etc. are discussed. The talks last for a week, during which the teenagers also learn how to make handicrafts, with the aim of sowing in them the seeds of work, financial independence, and entrepreneurship.