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“I did not learn to read, but I want the best for my children”

UNICEF’s donation of tablets and data plans to teachers and student counselors have been key in supporting teens like Jair, who came close to dropping out of school in Ecuador.

By Education Cannot Wait

October 26^th, 2020

lee esta historia en español

Special Contribution by Ana Maria Castro, UNICEF Ecuador (Original Story)

Jair, 15, spends much of his day building cardboard cars. From ambulances and limousines to buses and trucks. The guadua cane walls of his room are adorned with all his creations.

“I have a dream of making real cars and being a mechanic. I want to support my family, but I know that for that I have to study, although sometimes it is not so easy,” says Jair.

Human beings have different types of intelligence. In Jair's case, his most developed intelligence is spatial. People with spatial intelligence have the ability to imagine and design two or three-dimensional drawings and calculate volumes and measurements.

Photo © UNICEF / ECU / 2020 / Arcos

However, Jair has a degree of intellectual disability that makes it difficult for him to develop other types of intelligence such as linguistics, which is related to oral or written language. This means that he requires greater support from the educational community and his family so that he can learn to read and write.

“This time of pandemic has been difficult for us as a family because we do not feel prepared to help Jair in his studies. I can't read and I have no way to support him with his homework. At one point we thought about removing Jair from the study, but we changed our mind because we want the best for our children,” says Mercedes, Jair's mother.

His teacher was the one who identified that Jair required reinforcement that went beyond his skills and abilities as a teacher, so he contacted the psychologist Liliana Palate.

Liliana provides emotional, social and psycho-educational support to students in need. Photo © UNICEF / ECU / 2020 / Arcos

Jair's mother, Mercedes, worries because she does not feel prepared to help Jair with his studies. Photo © UNICEF / ECU / 2020 / Arcos

Liliana is part of the Department of Student Counseling (DECE) and her role is to provide emotional, social, and psychoeducational support when a student and their family require it. In some specific cases, the student is also directed to other special protection or mental health services. In Jair's case, Liliana contacted her mother to hear her concerns and reasons why they were considering removing Jair from his studies.

When talking to the family, Liliana identified that Jhonny, Jair's stepfather, did know how to read and write and with the whole family they made a commitment to support Jair with his studies.

Jhonny is now in charge of helping with the tasks. “I am committed to helping them with their homework. Sometimes it takes us longer than expected, but with patience, we manage to do the homework together. When we feel a bit frustrated, we talk to Liliana for guidance. I want to support them because I want them to have the opportunities that I couldn't have,” says Jair's stepfather.

Photo © UNICEF / ECU / 2020 / Arcos

Photo © UNICEF / ECU / 2020 / Arcos

Connectivity during the pandemic

To ensure that teachers and student counselors like Liliana can continue to support students and families during the pandemic, UNICEF has donated 4,335 data plans and 899 tablets to teachers and student counselors to promote contact between students, families, and the educational community.

“The tablet is a super good tool. Many families do not have internet and with tablets we can communicate through calls. In Jair's case, I communicate with him and his mother through calls and WhatsApp and I also make face-to-face visits to follow up on his process,” says Liliana.

This initiative of UNICEF Ecuador, which is carried out in coordination with the Ministry of Education, the support of the Education Cannot Wait (ECW) fund, and the Government of Denmark, has provided pedagogical and psycho-emotional support to more than 65,000 students in Ecuador.

2019 Update

In Ecuador, ECW assisted Venezuelan families with the enrolment processes, which led to increased access to formal education, while financial incentives for families and children were distributed to remove barriers in accessing education.

Learn more about the impact of ECW-funded programming in Ecuador in our 2019 Annual Report.

“I did not learn to read, but I want the best for my children”

Education Cannot Wait’s ‘Stories from the Field’ series features the voices of our implementing partners, children, youth, and the communities we support. These stories have only been lightly edited to reflect the authentic voice of these frontlines partners on the ground. The views expressed in the Stories from the Field series do not necessarily reflect those of Education Cannot Wait, our Secretariat, donors or UN Member States.

© 2026 Education Cannot Wait

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