By Erika Lucas | Local volunteer
I am Erika Lucas, a montubia chola (an epithet I can give myself to refer to the fact that my family lives and works by the sea in Manabí, Ecuador) from Bellavista Don Juan in the Jama canton, Manabí province in Ecuador. For me, the Library of the A Mano Manaba Foundation, FAMM is an earthly and magical place, with a deep community purpose. I am lucky that FAMM works on the beach where I live. Until I got to know the library, magic seemed something illusory to me, until I found out the level of commitment that each of the people who irect and collaborate with FAMM have. I know results in education are generational, but, I can notice changes in the girls and boys who attend the library. It seems that the library opens a window in their minds from which they can glimpse the world and the thousands of possibilities to change history with the support and tools they need to do so.
In my town, people have done the same for decades, there are few people who want and dare to experience something new for their personal and professional fulfillment. Now, thanks to FAMM, there is a group of young boys who are leaving the fishing nets and boats (a profession that is increasingly difficult and less profitable) for books, dreams and ideals, and girls who want to be writers, scientists, biologists, etc... I think they will achieve it because dreams have their way of realization in education and knowledge.
I have followed the work of the FAMM library since its inception. My profession as a social communicator has allowed me to contribute to the visibility of the hard work they have been doing since 2016. In 2022 I had the opportunity to volunteer for two months, therefore I am not only talking about what I read, or what I was able to observe at the time of carrying out a journalistic coverage in situ; I speak from everyday life. From the first crow of the rooster, which is heard as if it were next to your bed, there is movement inside the library. The volunteers -who come from all over the world- sweep, order and prepare the material and spaces for when the children arrive. Curiously, kids always arrive before opening the entrance door, everyone is clear about the slogan that the Library is free “without obligation, but with the heart”.
With the volunteers, an intercultural dynamic is established through which we meet people with other idiosyncrasies. From time to time, some leave, others arrive; This custom helps us feel more and more comfortable with differences, knowing that the geographical distance that separates us means nothing when we have established connections that unite us; because life is a coming and going of experiences read, told or lived.
Today I am talking about the work that is carried out here in the FAMM library on this beach, but I know that its permanence would not be possible without the support of donors like you. Just the fact that you are reading these lines means that we share the same goal: to help, within our possibilities- to balance the future for those who come after us. Thanks for joining us.
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