Camino al Cambio Homepage

Camino al Cambio, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization located in Guayaquil,
Ecuador, aims to empower children and young adults living on the streets and in
shelters around the country to improve their quality of life. We strive to fill the gaps
in the spectrum of services offered to street children around Ecuador. Primarily
targeting youth that live and survive independently in the streets, our project
activities focus on education and health, including the prevention and treatment of
substance abuse and sexual and reproductive health.

Street children and youth have a long history in Ecuador, the Latin American country
with the highest number of children working in the streets. Leaving home for a
variety of reasons--physical, sexual or emotional abuse, poverty, abandonment, or
adventure among a few--children and youth find refuge on the streets or within some
of the many shelters offers services throughout the country. Street life jeopardizes
the health of street youth in several ways, and for the highly sexually active
hard-core youth, HIV/AIDS presents the greatest threat.

Camino al Cambio offers children and youth the opportunity to develop their
capacity by learning some of the skills necessary to transition off the street on their
own. In addition, Camino al Cambio provides access to health care and subsidized
health and hygiene products to give youth the resources and opportunity to protect
their own health.