Library empowers Girls & Women in coastal Ecuador

                                                      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

When Mercy’s husband showed up at the construction, he picked up a bag of cement and boasted for all to hear “I can’t see how you ladies hope to do this without the help of a man”. Mercy smiled, faced her friends who joined her in this endeavor, and replied: “We can easily do this and anything else without a man… what we can’t do is without girlfriends”. She and her best friend Miriam turned, and together carried another bag of cement further down the road.

The construction of the bus stop is the last project completed by “The women’s circle”, and this is their story.

Our library has an open door policy. Everyone is invited to come in and join us. 

The projects, plays and events presented by the children at the library sparked the interest in many of the women in the community. Many of these are young mothers, most of whom dropped out of school due to teenage pregnancy, began to participate in the library. Now after a few months, it is with great joy and pride, that these women organized themselves and formed a club called “The women’s circle”.  

The women’s circle became stronger and started to meet twice or even three times a week after library hours. We are excited to see that our library has provided this group with a safe gathering place where all convene to learn, build strong connections, friendships, and a sense of community. 

Just a few weeks after their first meetings, the Women’s Circle organized a couple of fundraisers; as they plan to visit other women’s circles in the highlands to exchange recipes, customs and traditions. They prepared typical dishes from Manabi and rode their bikes to deliver to neighbors. 

Their latest project has just been completed, with the guidance of one of our volunteers The women, carrying shovels, picks, cements and blocks rebuild the town’s main entrance bus stop! What will their next project be?

We at FAMM are witnessing how the library is a space where positive change in the lives of these brave women can happen. All this is possible with your help. Thank you.