Working with communities to make them leaders of their own development through education and empowerment
Since 2018 The Community Ascent Network has been working closely with the community of Piñán in Northern Ecuador and this continues to be our focus. For Piñán their vision is to have access to public education for all of their youth so they can start to bring meaningful work and developments into the community.
We envision resilient Indigenous communities with equal access to local education, empowering them to build the futures they dream and deserve.
OUR WORK
Education is a right and a world of opportunity!
In rural areas of Ecuador, this right is often not a reality. Many rural communities in Ecuador either have no access to local education, or a very a very poor quality of it, due to geography and a severe shortage of resources and teachers. This problem is only compounded for indigenous people, women and girls.
Since 2018 the Community Ascent Network Has been working closely with the community of Piñán in Northern Ecuador to help them overcome this problem, and this continues to be our focus. For Piñán their vision is to have access to public education for all of their youth so they can start to bring meaningful work and developments into the community.
Our project is all about helping the community to achieve their vision. We have helped provide the coordination and resources to build and furnish classrooms, install computers and an internet connection, provide teachers, and build a working relationship between the community and the local School District.
We will continue to work with the students to ensure they receive a quality education. Access to education is just the first step in this community’s goal to bring work opportunities and sustainability to their remote village.
As our project focus now shifts to include funding and logistical support for students to participate in post-secondary studies, we’re excited about the possibilities that will arise for local work and sustainable initiatives, lead by the youth of Piñán.
We hope to be able to offer similar projects and opportunities to other communities in the future based on this model.
OUR VISION
The Community Ascent Network was founded for a specific purpose: so that attending high school could become a reality for the students of a remote village in the mountains of Ecuador. Working with the community at every stage of the project, we achieved this goal and in the process learned three foundational lessons:
1. Access to education will empower an entire generation of youth to make a difference in their own community
2. Access to education gives women and girls an equal opportunity to benefit from community developments
3. Community participation is the key to sustainable and impactful development
For this reason education for all youth, gender inclusion and community involvement are our organization’s goals.
MEET THE COMMUNITY AND LEARN ABOUT OUR STUDENT DRIVEN PROJECTS
OUR ORGANIZATION
Our organization takes a community guided approach, involving community participation from the planning stage to the execution and analysis of projects. This ensures that all of our funds and efforts meet the specific and localized needs shared by the entire community, creating impactful, gender inclusive projects with sustainable outcomes.
Each community knows their own way forward and the Community Ascent Network is here to provide the organization, support and funding to help them get there.