A COUPLE from Ramsbottom have travelled to Ecuador to their visit sponsored teenager.

Peter Clare, aged 67, and his wife Bridget, aged 64, travelled to the Manabí province to meet Katerin who they have sponsored for seven years.

The couple were invited to visit Katerin for her 15th birthday, who they sponsor through global children’s charity Plan International UK.

Peter said: “We often exchange letters with Katerin and a couple of years ago she wrote to us inviting us to her 15th birthday! In Ecuador, when someone turns 15 it’s a huge celebration, similar to turning 16 in the UK.”

Peter and Bridget lived in Peru in the 1990s, and when they returned to the UK they decided to start sponsoring a child.

Bridget said: “We really felt like we wanted to give something back to the continent, and we know that a donation each month can go a long, long way to helping communities there.”

Peter and Bridget visited Katerin at her new home, having recently been rehoused after her family home was destroyed by the earthquake that took place last year.

Peter said: “The parents were incredibly welcoming, and it was lovely meeting Katerin who was very shy. We brought her a birthday cake and a jewellery box and also gave some Lancashire tea towels to the family.”

Communities across the Manabí province were severely affected by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake which hit the country. Since then, Plan International’s humanitarian response to the earthquake has reached more than 83,000 people, including 36,900 girls and boys.

Bridget said: “We were so impressed to see how quickly the charity responded to the earthquake, and the main reason for this is because they were already on the ground and had access to these communities.

“We both speak Spanish and so were able to chat to Katerin about what she wanted to do after leaving school. I was particularly interested and excited to learn that Katerin wants to go to university to study Psychology. It’s clear her aspirations are high and that has a lot to do with Plan International’s work in her community.”

To find out more about child sponsorship with Plan International UK, visit: www.plan-uk.org/sponsor-a-child.