Ecuador CIVIC ACTION
Relief operations following the 1987 earthquake
Courtesy United States Agency for International Development, Office
of United States Foreign Disaster Assistance (LeVonne Harrell)
The armed forces actively engaged in various civic-action
programs. Army engineer battalions played a leading part in road
construction between the remote areas of the Oriente and the more
populated regions of the country
(see Transportation
, ch. 3). They
repaired and restored roads and bridges damaged during natural
calamities and built various public buildings such as schools. Army
medical teams periodically conducted examinations and provided
medicines, inoculations, and dental services in remote settlements
lacking civilian medical facilities. The military also engaged in
health, education, and construction projects in the slums and
shantytowns of the cities.
The army trained officers and selected enlisted men to provide
literacy training to conscripts and to civilians living in areas
where the military were assigned. In January 1989, the government
reported that the armed forces and the National Police would
provide security, transportation, lodging, and food to teachers
sent to conduct a new literacy campaign in remote areas
(see Education
, ch. 2).
Data as of 1989
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