Helping Families Break Cycles of Violence

Ecuador, and most of Latin America, has been struggling with high rates of teenage pregnancy for over 3 decades. There are many explanations for the large numbers of young people becoming parents; some can be attributed to the poverty that pervades these countries and the lack of education surrounding sexual health and practices. Realities from these circumstances are that many young mothers are not prepared nor well informed about what becoming a mother entails and what to expect. These young girls, ages 13 to 19, are part of a cycle in some of the poorest neighborhoods in Guayaquil, Ecuador and their own experiences with their mothers that leave much to be desired.

JUCONI recognizes this pattern all too well and wants to help these young mothers enhance the bonds between mothers and children. By strengthening the relationship between the two, these families can lower the likelihood of violence within the household and prevent future teenage pregnancies in their children's lives. JUCONI offers a space for young mothers and their children to attend weekly and cover topics such as best practices for caring for infants and toddlers, various forms of discipline for toddlers, and nurturing the mother and child bonds. One such mom is Isabela and she became a mother at the age of 15. Her mother had her around the same age and many aunts, cousins, and siblings have had children in their teens.  Isabela grew up with 10 brothers and sisters and didn't get to spend much time with her mother due to work, cooking meals for all 10 kids and then having to go to sleep early in order to have enough energy for the next day. Isabela has only one child and says she would like to wait to have another child so she can enjoy the time now with her son. She says she enjoys these weekly meetings because she wants to create beautiful memories with her son, memories that she didn't get to have with her mother.

JUCONI members and mothers do art projects within these weekly meetings like creating photo frames in which the mothers decorate and later add pictures of their children and themselves.  Another art project is to create a memory book in which  moms record special benchmarks of their infants such as their weight and height, first words spoken, date they took their first steps, and so much more. Their children are encouraged to be there so that this is a shared activity that they look forward to each week. This space also provides the young mothers an opportunity to share ideas, successes, and failures that they have experienced so that others can benefit from practices that worked and learn from those that didn't. We at JUCONI believe in these women's futures and that together, we can change these cycles and provide better opportunities for families. We are very proud of our young mothers and we hope you are as well. Thank you for your donations and for your kind encouragement.