Quito, Ecuador: Police Rescue Young Children Working in Recycling

On July 4, 2013 Ecuavor Noticias reported that police from the Child Protection Unit (Dinapen) in Quito have rescued several children forced to work as garbage recyclists in an area north of the city. The rescue of three children, aged 1, 3 and 7, occurred following several weeks of investigation by Dinapen. According to police investigations and complaints from neighbors, the children were forced by their families to earn money collecting recycling material from garbage containers.

Dinapen later rescued two more children three blocks away from the initial operation. Their father arrived minutes later, explaining he had withdrawn the children from school to work. According to their father, the children had not eaten that day as they had not earned enough money. The two children were taken to a health center for medical testing, and will be sent to a shelter pending a court resolution of the case. Read Article