Library empowers Girls & Women in coastal Ecuador

"This has been the best day of my life," said Teresa after an unforgettable day of visiting museums in Manta, where youth from FAMM had the opportunity to engage with amorfinos—a folkloric genre of contrapuntal oral poetry that fosters a deep sense of place, identity, and cultural continuity along Ecuador's coast. Rooted in Afro-Ecuadorian heritage, amorfinos celebrate nature, love, and life, serving as powerful tools for preserving collective memory, nurturing political consciousness, and inspiring imagination. This oral tradition dates back to pre-Columbian times and is typically introduced to children during their early school years. For many of the young participants, performing amorfinos and connecting with established artists in the genre was a transformative experience, strengthening cultural pride and community bonds.

The Women’s Circle continues to thrive, thanks to the incredible support from our community. With the generous contribution of the Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ), participants have gained valuable skills through workshops on self-esteem, conflict resolution, entrepreneurship, and Microsoft Office. Moreover, volunteer coach Natalia Cepeda has dedicated her time every Wednesday to guide the women through transformative sessions on life planning, financial literacy, and strengthening family relationships. These efforts are making a lasting impact, equipping women with the confidence and knowledge they need to create sustainable change for themselves, their family, and community.

Among our youth, Ana Cristina, Karina, and Ronnie are currently taking intensive German classes as they prepare for their upcoming volunteerships in Germany. Inspired by Adriana’s transformative experience in Leipzig—where she has grown both personally and professionally—they are eager to follow in her and Bryan’s footsteps. This incredible opportunity, made possible through our partnership with Weltwärts, allows these young leaders to gain valuable international work experience, broaden their horizons, and develop skills that will benefit their communities upon their return. 

At FAMM, we remain committed to empowering girls and women by providing opportunities that foster personal growth, cultural pride, and global leadership, ensuring they have the tools and confidence to create meaningful change in their lives and communities.Thank you for being a part of this change! 

                                                      A roller coaster of emotions

I’m going to Germany, were Adriana’s words, as she raced into her house.

Adriana Vaca and Bryan Valdez joined our team at ¨Fundacion a Mano Manaba¨ in 2020. Among other things, as volunteers, they helped with remedial math, reading and writing at our library, and at the local school that FAMM supports.

 Both were determined to learn German, lessons that our volunteers from Germany through World Horizons Welwarts, offered to the children and young adults from our community. After 18 months of hard work learning German, they completed the process to be accepted into the program to do a one year volunteer work in Germany. They made it! They were accepted into the program!

 Adriana and Bryan will be the first of many to experience life abroad and bring back all their knowledge and experience to better the lives of the people from Don Juan. They will apply new skills and strategies learned in all of FAMM’s projects.

 Thanks to your donations, we at FAMM, can continue to support our children and young adults, especially at these crucial times when violence is stalking the northern part of Manabi affecting the youth of our community.

 Here’s what Adriana wrote, after her first month’s stay:

This month has been a roller coaster of emotions and learning. Coming from a town as small as Don Juan in Ecuador, where everything is familiar and simple, to a country as structured as Germany has been a strong and challenging change. During the first few days, I felt like a scared girl, everything was new and different, from language to customs.

My perspective changed after participating in the seminar where I met a colleague who, despite his disability, faces the same responsibilities and challenges as I. His courage motivated me to overcome my own fears and face this experience with a new attitude.

Working with young children has been another surprise. At first, it was very difficult for me however, I have learned a lot by observing how children are prepared to be independent from a very young age. It's impressive to see how they dress alone, eat alone and serve their own food. This culture of individuality is something very different from what I have seen in my community, and has made me reflect on the different ways of raising and educating children.

As for daily life, cycling around the city has been an adventure. I have had curious encounters; such as being stopped by the police or receiving screams for being in the wrong side of the road. In my town, you don’t see that, there we walk freely, without traffic lights or clocks controlling every movement. Here, everything follows an order marked by lights and time, and I feel that people always live running from one side to the other.

In short, this month has been a journey of adaptation, discovery and reflection. I feel like I'm just beginning to understand everything that this experience in Germany is offering me. Maybe at the end of this year, I'll end up writing a book with all the anecdotes I'm accumulating.

Hugs

Adriana Vaca