Fernando Nuño in Loja
Katty Melania Bravo, 16 years old, has two good reasons for being happy. Recently, she was elected beauty queen in Tierras Coloradas, and secondly, a few days ago, her family and 400 others got drinking water and sanitation in their homes.
"During the drought we had to fetch water from several kilometers away. During the rainy season we had water, but it used to cause diarrhoea," explains Katty, an Ecuadorian Red Cross volunteer.
Tierras Coloradas, or Red Lands in Spanish, is a community of 2,200 inhabitants in Loja province, in southern Ecuador. It is one of 16 vulnerable communities benefiting from a regional development plan being implemented by the Ecuadorian Red Cross, with the support of the Spanish Red Cross. The main main component of the project is community health.
"As well as the water and sanitation systems, these villages should have a health clinic, a pharmacy, a dressmaking workshop and a carpenter's workshop in less than a year's time, in addition to training in community health and disaster preparedness for every family,” explains Patricio Aguirre, president of the Ecuadorian Red Cross in Loja.
Before the intervention, many factors were making the residents of Tierras Coloradas vulnerable. "Unemployment forced many heads of household to migrate to the northern cities and abroad. This area also suffers from severe drought on the one hand to landslides in the rainy season," Aguirre adds.
The poor quality of the water is a constant threat to the population´s health, especially children's. "As if all this was not enough, the community's proximity to the border with Peru, has hindered development in this zone of the province,” explains Carlota Celi, project coordinator of the Ecuadorian Red Cross in Loja.
Recovering self esteem
One driving force for the change has been the positive attitude of young people, who commited themselves to the project from the beginning. They have taken an active part in the workshops organized by the Red Cross.
"This community showed one of the highest crime rates in the province a year ago. Family incomes were low, as was the motivation among young people,” Celi remarks.
Over the past year, crime rates have fallen dramatically in Tierras Coloradas. By contrast, for the past six months it has had permanent team of 17 young Red Cross volunteers, all members of the community.
"This group has already carried out an evacuation simulation with the participation of the community. It was a very positive first step. Afterwards there were other activities, such as the organization of neighbourhood watch brigades, so that people may live peacefully,” says Alicia González, an Ecuadorian Red Cross social worker.
The enthusiam of young people like Katty Melania has led to the creation in Tierras Coloradas of a specialized group for training and disaster preparedness. In the event of landslides or serious accidents in the community, they alert the Red Cross office in Loja, while responding with first aid.
HIV/AIDS prevention
“These activities have made it easier for us to build up our confidence. We are closer to fending for ourselves, and building a better future for our young people," says Manuel Cando Carrión, community leader of Tierras Coloradas.
Since the project started, there has been a constant stream of ideas from the young people. "They want to start sex education and HIV/AIDS prevention workshops. This is a very positive step forward in a province where some years ago the use of condoms was taboo,” says Celi.
Loja province shows a high rate of migration. According to the Ecuadorian Red Cross health coordinator, risky sexual behaviours are common among returning emigrants.
"The risk of transmision of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases from husband to wife is high. By facing subjects like AIDS prevention, young people have started to take the helm of their own future," adds Celi.