On behalf of the Gender and Development (GAD) Committee of Peace Corps Ecuador, we would like to invite your support in our annual raffle, proceeds for which help further educational opportunities for Ecuadorian high school girls and support other GAD activities.  

One of GAD’s primary objectives is to provide three-year scholarships for young financially underprivileged, yet highly motivated Ecuadorian women so that they can finish their high school education. Working in partnership with Club Kiwanis Chuquiragua in Quito, Ecuador’s scholarship program is one of only a handful worldwide.  The financial assistance that we provide for these young women is vitally needed:  a mere 56% of Ecuadorian women receive their high school degree. The scholarship recipients reflect the rich ethnic diversity of the country, including representatives from Afro-Ecuadorian and indigenous communities.

This year’s raffle, scheduled for July 14, 2006, will help to provide scholarships for around 80 young women, as well as funding for our annual leadership conference of scholarship girls and Camp ALMA (Activism and Leadership for Ambitious Women), a five-day leadership camp giving young women the opportunity to test their potential and gain valuable self-esteem as they take part in rigorous outdoor adventures. 

Prizes for the raffle include one round-trip plane ticket on American Airlines good for travel between the continental United States and Ecuador, as well as other prizes such as gift certificates to restaurants and hotels.  Each ticket costs only $1.50.  If you buy 100 tickets, you will automatically sponsor a woman’s education for a full year and become a member of the GAD 100-Club, receiving a photograph and information regarding the young woman whom you are sponsoring. 

Donations are tax deductible!!  There are several ways to donate:

1.  We encourage you to donate on-line through the Friends of Ecuador website.  Log on to www.friendsofecuador.org and click on Donate to make a general donation to the GAD committee or to make a specific donation to the GAD raffle. 

2. Checks can be made to: Club Kiwanis Chuquiragua Please write GAD Rifa in the Memo of the check and mail to: Attn: GAD. Casilla 17-08-8624. Cuerpo de Paz/Ecuador. Quito, Ecuador. South America.

Your contribution is greatly appreciated!

Alyssa Parsons, Co-President, GAD Committee

Peace Corps/Ecuador’s Committee on Gender and Development (GAD) aims to enhance gender equity in al sectors of Ecuadorian society.  Through local outreach, national conferences/retreats, and a women’s scholarship fund, we provide opportunities for young women and men to share their cultures and exercise their full leadership potential in the face of prevalent socio-economic challenge.  It is thus with great pleasure that GAD announces its annual raffle, a fundraiser that will ensure these vital projects continue.  With the purchase of a ticket ($1.50) you are automatically entered into a drawing for a free round-trip ticket from Ecuador to the United States (with restrictions). But hurry, the last day to purchase tickets is July 24^th, and the drawing will be held on July 26^th!

To purchase GAD raffle tickets, click on the donate link below which will take you to FOE's secure e-pay form. Please select "GAD Raffle" on the drop-down menu. Notice, there is a separate item for general donations to the "GAD Committee."

The work of the GAD committee in Peace Corps Ecuador emphasizes the role of women and gender in the development process through programs characterized by three overarching objectives: 1) To support and encourage education for young Ecuadorian women, 2) To concurrently foster gender awareness and leadership skills for young Ecuadorian men and women, and 3) To advocate and enhance the involvement of Peace Corps volunteers in gender and development issues.  GAD spearheads a number of projects, primary offering scholarships to motivated young women who demonstrate superior academic performance but lack the financial resources to finish their last three years of high school.  In Ecuador, only 56 percent of young women finish high school, and four out of ten indigenous women are illiterate. Many girls do not finish their education for financial reasons or to contribute to their family’s labor responsibilities. In addition, a high teenage pregnancy rate forces some girls to drop out of school and assume primary childcare responsibilities. 

Teenage girls who leave school at an early age or are simply overlooked in schools tend to suffer from low self-esteem, passivity within their community, and become inured by their traditional gender roles.  In addition, the committee sponsors an annual 3-day leadership conference for the scholarship recipients in which we focus on helping them plan for their future, as well as on forging friendships with other young women from around the country.  In September 2003, GAD members led the first annual session of Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World): a five-day outdoor recreational and motivational program for teenage girls from each of our respective coastal, sierran, and jungle communities.  Initially conceived as a pilot project in Romania, Camp GLOW was designed as an outdoor leadership camp and retreat for teenage girls of disadvantaged backgrounds. 

As we consistently see, the endemic social structure in most rural and urban sectors of Ecuador routinely denies women opportunities for education and advancement.  Those of us committed to working on gender and development issues were enthusiastic about the opportunities Camp GLOW would offer to young women in Ecuador.

Once chosen through a selective application process, young women from across Ecuador boldly packed their bags for a once in a lifetime adventure.  For a few participants, Camp GLOW marked the first time they had ever stepped outside the confines of their home villages.  The girls camped out in the wilderness and flourished in a variety of new and challenging experiences, such as forest orienteering, mountain trekking, white water rafting, and high ropes courses.  Each of the girls in their own way and at their own pace learned to conquer their self-doubts and fears through patience, bravery and teamwork. 

The girls experienced wonderful boosts of self-esteem and self-worth, formed lasting bonds with other ambitious young women, developed their knowledge about Ecuador’s extremely rich geological and cultural diversity, and learned how to set goals and overcome personal challenges. The committee is now planning a special GLOW trip for April 2004 that will make this prodigious event more enriching and sustainable.  The most outstanding participants from each of the three camps will embark on a backpacking adventure in which they will receive training on how to facilitate sessions and provide leadership training directly to their peers.   These girls will then lead future national trips and form the bedrock of what we hope grows into a formidable and tight-knit Camp GLOW alumnae network.

By July 2003, GAD Ecuador raised over $6000 in our annual raffle and were able not only to maintain sponsorship of the approximately 100 current scholarship recipients, but also to accept an additional 16 young women from the Sierra and Oriente regions of Ecuador into the program.  In February we will be reviewing another round of scholarship applicants, and in hopes of continuing our established and successful programs, as well as dedicating our energies to promoting sustainability within our projects, expanding our work with young men and boys, and initiating region-specific gender trainings for volunteers and community leaders, we will again be looking for sources of funding.

If you would like to support the work of GAD, please get in touch through e-mail:

Thank you so much for your support!

Sincerely,

Caitlin Gerdts & Colleen Kudla

Co-Presidents, GAD Ecuador