Fundación Casa de Refugio Matilde is a women-led local organization in Quito, Ecuador, that provides shelter and comprehensive services to women who are victims and survivors of domestic and gender-based violence. For 35 years, their shelter has operated 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, serving Ecuadorian and migrant women and their children. Casa Matilde is the Tilo Fund’s first partner in Ecuador.
Casa Matilde provides accommodation and meals, psychological care, legal support, social services, and workshops on human rights and violence prevention, for women in their shelter and in the community. Working in collaboration with human rights organizations and networks, they engage in public advocacy to raise awareness, prevent gender-based violence, and ensure survivors receive services and support.
The Casa Matilde team told us that their shelter and services emerged from the historic struggle of the Ecuadorian women’s movement to demand that the State provide responses to violence against women. In Ecuador, gender-based violence remains a structural issue that severely affects the lives, safety, and rights of thousands of women and children. Many women face situations of extreme violence and lack family support networks, financial resources, or safe spaces where they can find protection. Casa Matilde works to guarantee the right of women to live free from violence and to provide safe spaces, comprehensive care, and specialized support that enable them to rebuild dignified and autonomous lives.
Support from the Tilo Fund is allowing Casa Matilde to make badly needed repairs and upgrades to the shelter, including replacing and repairing flooring, tiling the kitchen, and repairing the building’s plasterwork. It is often difficult for organizations to find the funds for these kinds of critical repairs. We are also supporting tech, communication and outreach materials, and parts of salaries that are not covered by program grants.
We are so excited to see the work begin.
Casa Matilde, Quito, Ecuador, November 2026.