The IES Abroad Quito Center, like all of our Centers worldwide, has local crisis management plans and protocols in place in addition to our global crisis management plan. Our on-site staff maintain close relationships with local police and governmental authorities, as well as with the local U.S. Embassy in Ecuador.
As long as we consider it safe for students to remain in Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands, we will continue operating our programs there. Our crisis management team continues to closely monitor the situation and it has made safety contingency plans. The considered contingencies would be specific to the program with attention to academic continuity. If needed, we have the option to send students to nearby locations where they would continue to have IES Abroad support. This includes the Galápagos Islands or our centers in Buenos Aires or Santiago. We have used this approach in the past several years ago in South America.
January 25th
While there has been violence in parts of the country, things have been improving steadily where our students are located in the Galápagos and at Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ). On the Crisis Management Team, we have been able to get out ahead of these events early and we have outstanding colleagues on the ground in Ecuador.
CNN is reporting a shooting from 15 days ago of a high school student in Guayaquil, Ecuador, which is 265 miles from Quito by car, and the car trip takes 7.5 hours each way. Importantly, our students are in USFQ—which is itself 20-25 miles from Quito. Our Quito staff members continue to be in close contact with the students on a regular basis. The USFQ students also have host families to support them. We have staff members onsite in the Galápagos Islands with the GAIAS students but there has not been any violence there.
We have been in touch with our health insurance provider, CISI, and they have agreed to get students home at CISI’s expense if things worsen and/or if the students, parents or sending schools want us to do so.
January 12th
On-site staff have reported that cities are generally calm. In accordance with the national orders, classes will now meet online. By program, students are meeting as follows:
- Direct Enrollment - Universidad San Francisco de Quito program will meet online
- Galápagos Island Direct Enrollment - GAIAS semester program students will be attending courses in person.
- Our Galápagos Islands January Term - Marine Ecosystems program leaves for the islands January 12th
January 8th
On Monday, January 8th, Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa declared a national state of emergency after a gang leader escaped from prison. President Naboa has announced a state of emergency for 60 days and an immediate mobilization of the armed forces across the country. The emergency measures include the suspension of the right of assembly and a nightly curfew. IES Abroad Quito staff has been in contact with students and has shared the information related to the President’s announcement along with steps to help maintain their safety, which include:
- Always notify their host families of your comings and goings and return home before 22h00;
- Keep their cellphone charged and with data at all times and emergency contact information on hand;
- Reach out to IES Abroad staff immediately in case of any uncertainties or emergencies;
- Please follow the local news information from official channels and disregard rumors or false news;
- Review their emails and WhatsApp groups, for any updates from Quito Center staff; and
- Enter their independent travel plans on Trip Tracker
Families and schools of our students were also informed that their students are safe and we will not hesitate to communicate with students, their schools, and their families if any changes occur.
