Funding will support continued economic recovery following 2016 earthquake in Ecuador
ATLANTA (Aug. 13, 2018) — The global humanitarian organization CAREannounced today receipt of a $175,000 grant from the Project Management Institute Educational Foundation (PMIEF) to support economic recovery projects in the Manabi province of Ecuador, where a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck in 2016, devastating lives and damaging or destroying thousands of buildings, offices and schools. The grant will enable CARE to implement a project calledEconomic Recovery for Earthquake-Affected Producers and Entrepreneurs, which will develop the project management skills of women producers and entrepreneurs. The project builds upon previous CARE projects offering business and financial skills training.
Building the project management capabilities of Ecuador’s women producers and entrepreneurs helps move them and their families toward self-sufficiency, says Jeannette Barr, PMIEF’s executive director. “Launching and sustaining a successful microenterprise requires strong project management capabilities like planning and monitoring, while mitigating risks that arise,” she says. “PMIEF’s support helps women strengthen these skills while empowering them to make an appreciable difference in their families’ lives.”
The project aims to achieve three goals:
- Improve production, productivity, quality, and competiveness in the local tourism, craft, and agricultural economies
- Employ a value chain and inclusive business approach to improve links in the tourism chain
- Establish a gender-equitable, solidarity-based economics program that spurs a culture of cooperation, mutual support and reciprocity
With support from PMIEF, and working closely with local government and other non-governmental organizations, CARE aims to build the capacity of women producers and entrepreneurs who have potential to be key links in Ecuador’s tourism and agricultural value chains, but who have experienced loss and encountered other barriers following the earthquake. The project’s major activities include:
- Delivering trainings on project management, business planning, marketing strategies, innovation and commercialization, human rights, gender and the autonomy of women producers and/or entrepreneurs.
- Creating and promoting spaces for direct commercialization of products and services in collaboration with the private sector and local governments, with a focus on fair trade and responsible consumption.
- Designing and implementing local, sustainable economic innovation projects in coordination with the local university.
Victoria Castro Martinez, a project participant who represents an agricultural association, says the project “has given us a voice and makes us more productive and proactive. We develop the skills and qualities necessary for greater self-confidence. Including women in [Ecuador’s] economic reactivation is key since women promote the local economy.”
CARE will implement the project in the cantons of Jama and San Vicente, along the northern coast of Manabi, Ecuador, where the earthquake affected more than 700,000 people, many of whom have not recovered their livelihoods and remain at risk. The local communities in these cantons rely on the tourism industry, subsistence farming for household consumption, commercial agriculture and fishing.
About PMI Educational Foundation (PMIEF)
The PMI Educational Foundation (PMIEF) is a 501(c)(3) supporting organization of Project Management Institute (PMI), the world’s leading not-for-profit professional membership association for the project, program and portfolio management profession. Founded in 1990, PMIEF develops, implements and delivers innovative programs to leverage project management for social good globally. These include scholarships, awards and grants as well as educational resources that strengthen project management knowledge of teachers, youth and nonprofit organizations. PMIEF’s vision that “all people worldwide have a better tomorrow by applying project management skills in their daily lives” comes to the life through the generosity of individual and corporate donors as well as the PMI community. For additional information, visit www.pmief.org.
About CARE
Founded in 1945 with the creation of the CARE Package®, CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. CARE places special focus on working alongside women and girls because, equipped with the proper resources, they have the power to lift whole families and entire communities out of poverty. That’s why women and girls are at the heart of CARE’s community-based efforts to improve education and health, create economic opportunity, respond to emergencies and confront hunger. Last year CARE worked in 93 countries and reached 63 million people around the world. CARE has worked in Ecuador for 54 years, administering programs ranging from health and sanitation, to education, forestry, watershed management, infrastructure, governance and women’s empowerment. Learn more at care.org.
Mahmoud Shabeeb, mshabeeb@care.org, +962-79-146-39-03, Skype: mahmoud.shabeeb_1 (based in Amman, Jordan)
