Inclusive and Special Education Process of Napo, Ecuador - Project

This blog is about the developmental project that Finish Free Evangelical Church (SVK), with the aid from Finish Foreign Ministry (FORMIN), and in collaboration with Ecuadorian Covenant Church (IPEE) with their foundation FACE is realizing in Ecuador.

 The project is located at Ecuador's Amazonic Region, specifically in the Napo Province's three cantons: Tena, Archidona and Arosemena Tola where you can find the indigenous comunities of amazonic kichwa people.

Students and their teacher, Ediberto, at Kinti school in the Shiguango village of Archidona canton.

 The object is to create a model for inclusive and special education, adapted to the amazonic kichwa culture. We are looking for a way to enable all the children and youth with disabilities or special educational needs belonging to the indigenous nationalities (also the waorani communities existing in Napo) to recive education according to their abilities and needs at the same time respecting their culture and ancestral customs.

Students with their teacher Mayra (left) and DIPEIB-Napo's clinical psychologist Soraya (right) at Gonzalo David Avilés school in Wawa Sumako village of Archidona canton.

To fulfill this objective FACE has signed an agreemennt withe the Napo Province's Intercultural Bilingual Education Deparment (DIPEIB-Napo) and together they have created the Inclusive and Special Education Program (PEIE).

Student with his teacher (left) María Dolores and PEIE's coordinator Jenni at Bartolomé Marín school in Santa Rita village of Archidona canton.

In actuality the program is covering 35 schools where there are aproximately 40 teachers working that have recieved teacher training about disabilities, special educational needs, inclusion, special education and curricular adaptations from FACE.

Student with her teacher Marcelo at Bartolomé Marín school in Santa Rita village of Archidona canton.

 Year 2011 FACE realized census of children and youth minor than 15 years old that live in the kichwa villages and found out that there are more than 600 children and youth with disabilities and special educational needs in the villages. Aproximately half of these were reciving educational or other community services. At the end of 2012 FACE realized another census and found out that the number had dropped to a little over 500 of wich aproximately a half has a disability.

Students with their teacher (left), Educational Area 2's special education's coordinator Myriam (middle) and school's headmaster (right) at Salvador Tapuy school in Guinea Chimbana village of Tena canton.

 Together with DIPEIB-Napo it has been detected that there is a high porcentage of students with special educational needs, like learning disabilities, atention deficit, psychological and family problems, in the schools. Mistakingly their family, the teachers and other students lable these children and youth as stupid, slow learners or people with disabilities. To answer the situation FACE has given teacher training to the PEIE-programs teachers about treating students with different kinds of special needs.

Students with their teacher (right), proyects voluntary Camila (middle) and Educational Area 2's special education's coordinator Myriam at Antonieta Yumbo school in San Pablo parroquia of Archidona canton.

DIPEIB-Napo has in total 114 schools of different type in it's area. The educational department recieves students from 2 years on till the High School level. In the actuality the communities with the highest number of disabilities and special needs have PEIE teachers in the schools treating students in three subprograms: Special Education, Inclusion with Aid and Inclusion Based in the Community.