La Fundacion Familias Trabajadores (Quito, Ecuador)

FUNDRAISER (03/27-04/01)

The Population We Are Serving
In 1964 a Jesuit priest, Fr John Halligan SJ founded the Centro del Muchacho Trabajador (CMT) in the attic of the Jesuit Church, La Compania in Quito, Ecuador. Around 300 young shoeshine boys joined as members. The Center was a safe space for kids to be kids and to receive 3 meals a day. In 1967 a nun named Madre Miguel Conway BVM joined him from Iowa down to Quito's city center. Together they worked tirelessly to break the cycle of poverty by providing children with an education and safe space, services, food, and resources for families.

In 2018 Fr. John Halligan ("Padre Juan") and Madre Miguel noticed that the northern section of Quito, Cotocollao, had become more affluent so they decided to build a new community - La Fundacion Familias Trabajadores - in the southern part of Quito. As Northern Quito has seen increasing prosperity and development, many of the poorest families have been pushed further and further south alongside immigrants from rural and coastal Ecuador as well as surrounding countries. Since that time, they have grown from serving 8-10 people daily to between 100-130 people and continue to expand as they offer more programs. 8 of the 10 founders were once working children who had shined shoes in the plazas of Central Quito. Two of the original children influenced by Padre Juan hold up his vision of a community that embraces family values and helps one another get out of poverty. After overcoming innumerable obstacles they are living examples of how, given mentorship and support, the cycle of poverty can be broken for good.