The initiative Between letter and illustrations was part of a writing workshop that reflected on the value of women in cases of domestic violence.
Around 90 women, including teenagers, signed up for the initiative Between letters and illustrations that the Zumar Projects Unit, of the Municipality of Guayaquil, carried out since November to offer writing classes to vulnerable populations, this time through virtual platforms due to the coronavirus pandemic. On Friday, December 10, UP Zumar celebrated the closing of the workshop with the exhibition of six outstanding micro-stories that the registered participants developed in the classes outside the La Bota cultural space (Malecón del Salado), which can be seen on this site until Sunday 12.
“From the Zumar Projects Unit we are always creating integral development projects for the family, this time we have focused on women, so that through art they can find a very powerful tool to express themselves”, he synthesized Romina zeballos, director of Zumar, this management remains.
The stories are widely sensitized to the theme of domestic violence, with the purpose that at the end of November, in fact on Thursday 25, the day for the Elimination of Violence against Women was remembered. Each short text was ‘sponsored’ by a local artist to be illustrated and thus be a visual support for his lyrics.
The director together with the journalist Veronica Coello, the workshop leader, gave diplomas to the participants, recognizing the work of three of them whom Zumar wanted to decorate as the three best creations that followed the slogan. The winners received fiction books provided by The burrow.
First place was received by the young 14-year-old Xiomara Campaña, with an untitled piece that evokes the moment when a woman decides to report the attacks she has suffered by her partner, a passage that was illustrated by Oswaldo Aguinaga.
“It is a topic of great interest, because nowadays women have suffered abuse for many years, it is important that people understand the meaning of this topic and be able to analyze and become aware of what women live today”, defended the teenage high school student.
The other award-winning writings were Eva, from Mabel navas, also with an illustration by Aguinaga; Y Renaissance, from Fiorella del Carmen Villarreal, with the images of Cristian Cruz.
“We opened the workshop for women from the age of 14 onwards, it was more welcomed by adolescents, which was a measure to know that our youth is interested in topics that other generations perhaps did not do, such as reading and writing” Zeballos acknowledged.
For Coello, writing is the best way to give voice to people who find it difficult to speak. Since the pandemic, being locked up, many situations of sadness and other sensations were generated and some problems were exacerbated, such as family violence. Silence is the answer to many people who prefer to be silent, because they do not feel that they can solve something, ”the journalist pointed out.
Therefore, he emphasizes, writing can become a tool that empowers them for them. “Because when they can write what they feel they are no longer so afraid. As I told them in the workshop: ‘fear is a stone on your wings that prevents you from flying and leaving’ “.
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
