With the help of donations and volunteers, the Yanapuma Foundation, a fledging Quito-based organization, is taking an innovative, comprehensive approach to community development.  The Foundation was brought into being by Andy Kirby, a native of Scotland, whose experience volunteering in other community development organizations in Ecuador convinced him that a new approach was needed. 

The Yanapuma Foundation bases its work on a need to help indigenous communities thrive and preserve their cultures amidst the pressures of globalization.  They are currently accepting volunteers and donations to help with projects in the communities of Bua de los Tsachilla, Wachimak, and La Chimba; as well as others involving street kids in Quito.  Among the unique aspects of Yanapuma is its Spanish school, which it uses to train its volunteers as well as cover its administrative costs.  "The idea is that one hundred percent of donations go to fund community projects," says Kirby. 

Laura Esther Córdova Navia stares straight at me with eyes that burn with passion and a voice that tells me, 'we're serious'.

The Ecuadorian born woman, whom is one of ten children in her family, is director of the volunteer organisation New Horizons in a project that connects all parts of the country: the Costa, Sierra, Oriente and the Galapagos Islands. They aim to tackle problems of under educated children a different way

There is no doubting the desire to enable change in a country that desperately needs to break from the past and move into the modern age where children a taught until 16 and mothers don't bear children until their twenties.