Ecuador

Ecuador is a small country on the west side of the fat part of South America. As a tourist destination, its biggest claim to fame is the Galapagos Islands, far to the west in the Pacific. Ecuador is a spectacularly beautiful place, full of volcanoes (several still active), tropical flora and fauna, and many different indigeonous peoples. There seems to be a growing middle class (at least lower middle class), but much of the demographic information I have read varies widely from one source to another, so I hesitate to give statistics. I can say with certainty that the population is very dense, poverty is high, and the rates of infant mortality and malnutrition among children less than 5 years of age are good reasons to come to this country as missionaries.

Ecuador uses the American dollar as its currency, a change that was made in 2000 in an effort to stabilize the economy. If working for the government can be considered a good job, as it is in most countries, then good jobs here pay between $300 and $500 per month (the salaries of city workers are posted on the Santo Domingo website.) Yet the prices of many products here equal or exceed those in the U.S. for the same goods. Hence it is hard to fathom how families survive, particularly those with only one parent or where there is illness in the household.