Laureano, tell us a little bit about your life and origins

I am Ecuadorian and Latin American at heart. My parents are originally Colombian, and I am the oldest of six boys. I was born in a little country village and I lived there until the age of 12. Then my parents sent me to Quito, the capital. I took courses in fine arts, especially in painting and engraving. In order to become a teacher, I also studied social work, communication, and urban anthropology.

How did you come to work with children from the streets, and why did you choose PMT?

When I arrived in the capital, I settled in a neighborhood around Mena del Hierro, and live there still. Since I arrived there when I was young, I had to assume the responsibilities of an adult, and that’s what led me to identify with the marginalized, principally with the children and youth, and to become a public educator. I therefore invested, at a very early age, in neighborhood life. After my studies, I didn’t choose PMT, they came to me! I have worked for PMT for sixteen years and I am now the national coordinator for alternative spaces. I consider myself to be, at the same time a public educator and an artist, since I use art as a tool in my work.

Can you give us a concrete example of a project that you have led with children?

With them, we have always made a model of the neighborhood. Then we identify the unsanitary places, the dangerous corners where the children are the victims of abuse, etc. Similarly, we indicated the game areas, the places where the rights of children are respected, the house where somebody enlivens the neighborhood thanks to his music. We used art to share with the community the reality that have updated. We write poems, paint murals and make cards. This allows us to improve neighborhood life by offering a life project where everyone respects human rights.

What is the situation of children who work and how do you work to surmount their difficulties?

The children that we work with suffer from the poverty that touches 3 of 5 Ecuadorians, and 20% of them are excluded from the school system. Moreover, the children that we meet suffer from abuse and sometimes malnutrition, and live in a hostile environment in which they are confronted with suicides and other violent deaths. But thanks to the art and our methodology that puts children in the middle of projects, we can overcome the shyness of children, gain their confidence, and work with them more aggressively. Each activity we do aims to make children less impulsive, to regain their confidence in adults, to reestablish the use of dialogue before anything else, and to practice direct democracy.

How do you approach your work?

To be an educator, you have to like being in contact with kids, and I chose to work for my entire life with those who have been excluded. I hope to create the necessary conditions so that each person can be, first and foremost, a human being. I like justice and challenges please me. For all this, we must live, learn, think, struggle, conquer, and simply be. Thanks to my experience as an artist and an educator, I have realized that yes, it is possible to transform a society by fighting against ignorance and injustice. It’s what I call the pedagogy of hope: don’t be afraid of challenges!

Would you like to pass on a message?

In the name of all the children and youth of Ecuador, I wish you a blue sky full of hope.

Also read: Résonances Latin America N°13 - April 2007