Consulate News
Ambassador Heather Hodges Meets with Afro-Ecuadorian Youth
January 14, 2009
During her recent visit to Guayaquil, Ambassador Heather Hodges met with 100 young Afro-Ecuadorian men and women from various local organizations and offered them a pleasant and informal chat about the life and achievements of one of the most important leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.
Ambassador Hodges also took advantage of the opportunity to congratulate the recipients of College Horizons scholarships for meeting the necessary requirements to qualify and remain in this program. The College Horizons program, which is supported by the U.S. Consulate General and the Centro Ecuatoriano-Norteamericano (CEN) in Guayaquil, is entering its second year of operations and has benefited 43 outstanding students from disadvantaged backgrounds by offering scholarships to study English at the CEN for two and a half years.
While in Guayaquil, Ambassador Hodges also visited a mango processing plant. After completing a quick tour of the facilities, she explained to the local press the extent of the U.S. government’s support for Ecuador’s agricultural sector. Through the APHIS program, the U.S. Department of Agriculture sends personnel who work with Ecuadorian exporters to ensure that they meet American phytosanitary requirements and can thus access the U.S. market more easily.