AMERICA/ECUADOR - School for poor children run by Catholic sisters, Servants Sisters of the Home of the Mother in Manabí almost had to close. The sisters persevered and now the school offers also secondary education

Playa Prieta (Agenzia Fides) - After a battle against corruption and party interests the Servants Sisters of the Home of the Mother succeeded in keeping open a school for poor children in Playa Prieta, rural area of Portoviejo, Manabí Province (Ecuador) and even increasing the number of lessons.
This small scholastic reality is the fruit of a benefactor convinced that every child has a right to education from the age of five. At first it was a small precarious building, today thanks to funds from the Archdiocese of Munich it is a modern building with spacious classrooms.
The foundress wished for the school to be run by a religious congregation and it was Archbishop José Mario Ruiz Navas of Manabí (Ecuador) who was aware of the capabilities of the Servants Sisters of the Home of the Mother and asked them to take over the school which was in danger of closing due to lack of teaching staff and 300 local children would be without a school.
The sisters accepted but there were many difficulties to face including scarcity of funds and complicated red tape to obtain permission to start courses of secondary education.
The five months from October 2006, when the sisters arrived to April 2007 when the school year officially began, the sisters fought a battle against corruption and party interests. However they succeeded and the first lessons started two weeks ago to the joy of the parents who feared their children would be denied access to education. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 27/4/2007 righe 39 parole 494)