Administration workshops with the Avanzar Foundation conclude

On August 5, the projects to link the Faculty of Administration Sciences - with the support of the Schools of Textile and Clothing Design and the School of Special Education - with the Avanzar Foundation were closed.

Gabriela Chica, one of the teachers in charge of the project, told the Campus the essence of this initiative, its relevance and the results obtained.

The Avanzar Foundation works with various humanitarian programs, mainly aimed at women and children with limited resources, among them they seek to support disadvantaged mothers in vulnerable situations, mainly.

The foundation has provided basic knowledge of making handmade products for ladies to become productive members of society.

For their part, the different units of the University of Azuay offered three workshops throughout this process.

Two were dedicated to the handling of industrial machines for clothing and basic pattern making and the other to the care of children.

What the School of Business Administration was looking for, working together with the School of Textile and Clothing Design with the first two workshops, was to provide women with basic knowledge of a trade, specifically focused on the handling of industrial machines for clothing and Basic pattern including knowledge of Administration and Computer Science.

In workshop 3 we worked jointly with the School of Special Education in the same way with this project was to provide women with basic knowledge in childcare, specifically on teaching techniques, first aid, duties and rights, nutrition, attention and care, administration and informatics.

The objective of these workshops in each area respectively was to train women belonging to the Avanzar Foundation in a trade and increase their chances of a job placement with an endorsement from the University of Azuay.

What were the results obtained?

In the first workshop, with a group of 17 students, 80% indicated that they had learned new skills and 60% of the participants were involved in activities related to what was taught. 

In the second workshop, with a group of 15 students, 100% improved their skills and are involved in activities related to the workshop.

In the last workshop, with a group of 19 students, 53% achieved a job placement and 100% of the women expressed that after the training they developed skills in caring for children.

Each group shared experiences among classmates and with their instructors, always taking each class as a new learning, receiving classes within the campus of the University of Azuay and being part of this community.

How would you describe the experience for all participants?

During the accompaniment to the three workshops, the experience was very enriching in many aspects, starting with meeting a group of women who do not stop, whose obstacles do not prevent them from growing as professionals and who can fulfill what they set out to do.

Another important point was to know the passion and commitment of the group of teachers with whom I shared and the bonds of friendship that were formed, among them, Sebastián Quezada and María Elisa Guillen -of the School of Textile and Clothing Design-, Benjamín Herrera, Gabriel Barros, Oswaldo Arpi -from the School of Administration-, María Carmen Cordero -from the Escuela Educación Especial-, Ana María Bustos -from the School of Law-, Diana López -from the School of Medicine- and the psychologist Viviana Vásquez.

In the same way, the students who participated in the accompaniment of the teachers in each of the classes taught.

The work was concluded with the support of the Linking and Continuing Education departments to carry out an event by means of zoom for the delivery of certificates to the students for having complied with the established guidelines.

Today I want to thank in a special way Ma. José González for giving me the opportunity to participate in these bonding projects that seek the commitment of the University of Azuay with society.