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Ecuador

In the Inca town of Otavalo, 11 year-old Jairo rushes from school to football practice, against a backdrop of the Ecuadoran national colours (red, yellow and blue).

In the nearby village of San Pablo de Lago, the waterfalls known as Cascada de Peguche are known for their healing powers: for the skin, heart and lungs. But little Annay has chosen, instead, the restorative delights of a lime lolly.

Wearing her walca blouse and anaco (a traditonal kimono-like skirt), Annay is heading for the river, where her mother will wash the family clothes in the fast-moving waters, then spread them on the bank to dry.

Traditionally a farming country, Ecuador has recently been transformed by the growth of industry and the discovery of oil. But many of its indigenous people, who speak only Quichua, still work all their lives for the minimum wage, raising harvests of avocadoes, strawberries and sweetcorn for the wealthy landowners.

On a bridge near the waterfalls, two-and-a-half year-old Aimara Rayen plays peekaboo with the camera. Her mixed-race father explains that, in Bolivian culture, 'aimara' means 'beloved daughter' while 'rayen', in Chilean culture, means 'beautiful flower'.