Erasma speaks no English. My Spanish is so-so at best. A translator is not readily availble. However, with a warm smile and traditional kiss on the cheek, Erasma agrees to have her picture taken and attempt our interview.
We’ve just returned from visits to Ecuador and Peru where we had the pleasure of interviewing three different women with three very different lives. I’ll be posting excerpts from each pending chapter.
A great piece today by Ted Turner on cnn.com about the importance of empowering women and access to vital family planning tools as we mark the 7 billionth person born today!
Tijuana, Mexico is not an easy place to live. Crowds, traffic, pollution and unending border waits have been aggravated in recent years with a dramatic acceleration in drug violence throughout the country. Marcella has lived almost her entire life in this border town and has watched it change… unfortunately, for the worse. “When I was younger, my husband and I would go out all the time. Sometimes I would drive home late at night by myself with my top down in my Jeep; I wasn’t afraid.” Marcella has reason to be afraid now.
South America has been on my list of destinations I’d like to hit for some time now. It’s the last main region I have not explored. Women in this area face many interesting challenges relating to battles with natural disasters, scarce resources and often violent political unrest.
Finding Forty will head to both Central and South America, likely at the end of 2011. Initial target list for locations include: Panama, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina
Africa