Estella Borgoño

Estella Borgoño (name changed) is 14 years old and is enrolled in CENIT's Adopt-a-Dream program, as well as being a student in ESTAR, CENIT's primary school. Estella was forced to leave school when she was eight to supplement her family's meagre income. She was selling fruit and candy in the streets of the Santa Maria neighbourhood. Estella spent nearly three years working up to 14 hours a day in these dangerous and polluted streets. Luckily, one of our street outreach volunteers working in the area befriended her and enrolled her in Adopt-a-Dream. She was paired with a godparent in the United States who pays for Estella's school costs, medical and dental care, and monthly groceries for her and her family. Estella was also enrolled in CENIT's Nivelaciones program, which is designed for children who have missed substantial amounts of school, to help them catch up to their appropriate grade level. Today, Estella is a full-time student in good standing at CENIT and will start her first year of high school next year. She no longer works in the streets and dreams of graduating and owning a store or working in a beauty salon one day.

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Social Work and Psychology

The CENIT community faces numerous challenges such as extreme poverty, violence, sexual abuse, underemployment, and spousal/parental desertion. CENIT thereby employs social workers and psychologists to assist all families in any way they can, including job placement, legal assistance in cases of domestic violence, and family counseling. Additionally, the social workers focus much of their time working with the children (both former and current students) to encourage thought about their future plans, whether it means pursuing higher education or finding better work. The social workers work very closely with all departments of CENIT to ensure that each family and student’s situation is not overlooked. The social work department works closely with other Ecuadorian foundations to provide quality services and appropriate case follow-up. Currently, volunteers are able to work with this department on a case-by-case basis. Please contact the CENIT volunteer department for further information.