Marco – a boy in Quito ::: Ecuador 2008

14-year-old Marco lives with his mother Anita (38), his brothers Diego (18), Carlos (12) and Abelardo (10) and his sister Marta (8) in La Quitumbre, a quarter in the southern part of Quito. His older sister Ana (19) lives with her boyfriend in a seperate apartment. Typically, La Quitumbre is a place where people leaving rural communities settle down in the city. Normally, it takes years for the municipality to address measures of urban planning such as running water, electricity, tarred streets …  Once, Marco ran away from home and tried to get by on his own.  For several weeks, he roamed the streets with friends and tried to make money by juggling. After a while, Marco realized that the situation at home with his family was substantially easier and better, so he returned home.  The Salesians of Don Bosco in Quito made it possible for Marco, his sister, and brothers to go to school. The project “Chicos de la Calle” (Children from the streets) gives poor families the opportunity to send their children to school and take part in diverse activities beside social workers, such as juggling, dancing, and making music.  The Salesians of Don Bosco originated the project GOL.A.S.O, which means SUPERGOAL, to reintegrate children into society. Marco and his friends dream to become professional soccer players in the future. However, the chances of this coming true are considerably slim.