Liliana, Grandma Carmen and little bit of hope

When I woke up this morning I could have sworn I was in a prison in Bangkok. All I could hear was loud screeching, babies crying, several alarms going off and a man clearing his throat and then spitting onto the floor...in addition to at least three televisions blaring out at full volume. When the power cut came and took away at least some of these noises I sent up a silent prayer of gratitude. I opened my eyes to see the remains of a squashed cockroach on the floor. The time was six thirty. It took me a few moments to remember where I actually was....a hotel room in Lago Agrio.

On Friday Saskia, Lucie, Niko and I went to the east of Ecuador for the day, flying from Quito to Lago Agrio and from there to a small village just across the river from Columbia called General Farfan...commonly known as La Punta. We were here to visit a family we had met in Quito and who have since become our very dear friends.

I first met the family through the Sol y Vida Foundation where I have been doing some volunteer work. Both Liliana (23) and her sister Marjory (5) are being treated for tumours which happily have now been removed, although the treatment is ongoing. The two of them live with their mother and Liliana's gorgeous little daughter Kerly.

We arrived in the village expecting to meet the four of them. In actual fact they were joined by several other members of the family who were all curious to meet these strange people who had come to their village from Europe, and we soon found ourselves literally surrounded by several generations of the same family.

As you can see from the photos, their house is surrounded by flowers and plants and looks very pretty...but what is not so obvious is that the house is falling down. It is a wooden construction balanced on concrete stilts, with a roof made of corrugated metal. The house has been in serious disrepair for several years, but a bad storm six months ago tore the roof off completely. The heavy rains soaked all of their possessions as well as the floor and the resulting situation is even more dangerous. I am no construction expert but it is not hard to see the danger. The place could collapse at any time. Grandma Carmen´s house across the road collapsed a few months ago and is now totally inhabitable.

We were shown round the village and we then took a bus to the Columbian border where there was a heavy military presence. The armed guards asked where were from and when we said we were from Finland allowed us across with big smiles and without our passports. I guess they had come to the conclusion that if there was going to be any violent disorder on the border, it was not going to be started by a Finnish mother, her two daughters and a baby. And so it was that we took an afternoon stroll into Colombia.

In all seriousness though, the family told me about the violence in the region and the truth is absolutely horrendous. The area has one of the highest rates of murder in the world. In their village alone there is a murder committed on average 15 times a year. The last was three days ago. A mother was on the river bank fishing when she was murdered in front of her two children. No-one had any idea why. Grandma Carmen told me that she herself gave birth to ten children. When she told me that five of them had been murdered I had to double check my Spanish to make sure I had understood correctly. I am sorry to say that I had. If that wasn't enough the family lost another two family members just two months ago in a motorbike accident. The driver of the other bike was apparently drunk. With a house in disrepair and violence like this round every corner I don't need to tell you how much this family dream about leaving, but with no money and little prospects there seems little chance of this happening.

We must have seemed an unlikely mix of people and we certainly turned heads everywhere we went that day. Grandma Carmen seemed to like holding my hand so I walked with her on one side and Kerly on the other. I have never had a grandmother and for an old lady to hold my hand like this was a very special moment for me too. As for Niko, he was such a novelty he was passed from one lady to another and charmed everyone he met. We could see people asking themselves who exactly was related to whom and not coming up with any sensible answers.

Before meeting up with the family we had found a hotel room in Lago Agrio which was a reasonable size and suggested to them that they might like to join us for the night. What I hadn't bargained for was that by inviting "the family" the invitation was automatically extended to everyone we had met....which meant that I suddenly found myself trying to explain to the hotel receptionist why I was now trying to accommodate a total of eleven people in one room.

For a family used to living in close quarters and sharing beds through necessity this was nothing out of the ordinary, but in the end we agreed to take two rooms to make life just a little easier.

I came to Ecuador with some money to distribute from my friends and colleagues at work, but we as a family also wanted to make our own contribution to helping someone in at least a small way. Of course in an ideal world we would love to be able to build new houses and schools and hospitals, and who knows, maybe one day that will become possible. For the moment though, our contribution can only be a modest one.

Having said that, we thought that the best thing we could do for one family would be to try and make a change which would have a long term effect rather than just feed someone for a couple of weeks. This family offered exactly that possibility.

Liliana is an animated, courageous, intelligent and determined woman. Until her recent operation she was supporting her family by working full time in a shop. Her wage was $80 a month. Our family has had its own financial struggles from time to time, as I am sure have many of you... but it is hard to even imagine what life must be like on a budget as limited as this one. One of the reasons that Liliana cannot earn more is that she has not been able to graduate from secondary school because of the costs involved. She only needs one year more of study in order to graduate and this is where we thought we could step in.

We are hoping that by supporting her family and helping her complete her education over the next year it will not only increase her chances of finding work but will also have a knock on effect for the family. I have no doubts about her commitment or determination to succeed because I have seen it for myself.

Despite the fact she is 23 years old, Liliana has to wear the same uniform as the children who will be in her class, so today we went to buy her school shoes and to have her fitted for her uniform so that she can start in her last year this coming September.

She has never had the chance to use a computer, so we visited an internet café so I could show her the wonders of hotmail. Most of you will know how little I know about computers...so you probably imagine that me explaining such things in Spanish was not a pretty sight. This way though at least she will be able to keep in touch over the next year. I should add that her village has no postal service which means that for the time being I am not even able to write letters.

The family is very houseproud and have succeeded in making their house pretty and welcoming with zero resources. They are talented at knitting and crochet and make placemats in the evenings which they sell when they can find a customer. What the pictures do not reveal is the fact that there is no toilet, bathroom or running water, or that the house is not going to last much longer.

If this family had been born in Western Europe I have no doubt that they would all be professionals living a very comfortable lifestyle. As it is they often wonder where their next meal is coming from and live in a village in which murder has become an every day occurrence. With young children to worry about in this environment in addition to the cancer in the family I have no idea how it is they manage to keep smiling. When I asked this they all said it was because they are blessed by God.

Being in Ecuador has been hugely enriching but I have also found it very hard being here. There are so many deserving people and I wish we could do something to help each and every one. The fact that we can't fills every day with feelings of frustration and inadequacy, but we have to make do with small gestures like this one. I just hope that at least we can make a small difference to Liliana and her family.

Our day and night in Lago Agria was emotional and intense. We all laughted and we all cried. One more time I realised how much I have to be grateful for and how little our family has to complain about. A big hug to you all from Quito where it is raining. Again.