Since I was a child, my family and I travel to Manta to visit my maternal family. Manta is a mid-sized city on the coast of Ecuador. It has delicious coastal food, warm weather and the most good-hearted people. All the trips and visits to my grandparents and my cousins grew on me a big affection for the beach. Also, music is a very important part of my life and my identity. Even though I listen to music every day, a class at my school made me appreciate it in a deeper level.
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My name is María José Vergara Vera and I was born on August 20th, 2000 in a really small but charming city in Ecuador called Cuenca. I am the middle daughter of three siblings. My older brother is called Medardo and my youngest José Andrés. I lived in Cuenca until I was 8 years old, and after that my dad´s job made us come the beautiful capital of Ecuador, Quito. My dad Pepe and my mom Irene met in Manta 17 years ago. Each one of the members in our family comes from different cities of Ecuador, my dad is from Quito, my mom from Manta, Medardo from Guayaquil and me and José from Cuenca. I believe the best decision ever was to enter Colegio Menor. I am currently a senior at this school and I am so thankful the teachers and my friends here have shaped me as a person.
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Some of the things I enjoy the most is traveling. Two summers ago me and Isabella had the opportunity to go to a community service camp in Africa where we visited 3 countries, all with different landscapes. Even though we had the chance to meet wonderful people from a different culture and see its amazing wildlife, we also got to see the extreme poverty some of the inhabitants experience. Watching all these people on this environment made me realize of the injustices that exist on this world, and it made me very sad. It moved my heart to see how even in those conditions, kids from the communities were happy with such little things. We complain of the most insignificant problems that are going on in our lives, but we are not aware that some people have much bigger ones. I am lucky to say this trip changed my life, and the desire to help others developed even more.
After experiencing what I did in Africa, I wanted to give less privileged children the same opportunities that we have. Some years ago, I found out what Juliana and her group of Beyond Lagartococha were achieving. I thought their believes and accomplishments were a long-lasting project that would change the life of many indigenous children, and in fact it did. When I heard they were going to create a Second Generation I didn't hesitate in applying. Thankfully, in 2017 the First Generation of Beyond Lagartococha gave us the opportunity to join the group. The initiative of this project started with a small group of students from Quito, and as the name of the group highlights, it went BEYOND that. The project continues to enrich the education of many more indegenous kids, not only in Mañoco but also in Painkenape. The Secoya children deserve the right to learn and to shine BEYOND their isolated community. It fills my heart to be a member of Beyond Lagartococha.
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