According to UNICEF, nearly seventy percent of Ecuador's 4.8 million children live in poverty. Approximately 430,000 children aged between five and seventeen years of age work, malnutrition affects 15 percent of children under five years of age, and government-assisted early childhood development programs cover only 8.4 percent of eligible children.
In 1996, ARK was
founded when the Allan family came
to Riobamba hoping to help the children
of Ecuador. They have done just that. They have grown tremendously and now
have an orphanage on land that they own, a school that they run, as well as a baby
house. They have seen over 300 children come through their doors, and they continue
to support these children as if they were a part of their
family.
According to UNICEF, nearly seventy percent of Ecuador's 4.8 million children live in poverty. Approximately 430,000 children aged between five and seventeen years of age work, malnutrition affects 15 percent of children under five years of age, and government-assisted early childhood development programs cover only 8.4 percent of eligible children. 
