Get Adobe Flash player

Barrio De Paz

Youth worker Nelsa Libertad Curbelo Cora describes the inspiration behind Barrio de Paz (Peace Town), a non-violent youth movement in Guayaquil, Ecuador. It brings together street gangs to provide services to the struggling community. Gang members band together out of a need for unity, structure, and love when their social fabric has been torn apart. Mirroring the society that marginalizes them, gangs use this unity for domination and aggression. Nelsa shows how this instinct toward oneness can be transformed into a power of service, life, and love.

Nelsa Libertad Curbelo

Nelsa Libertad Curbelo Cora is a proponent of non-violence who has fought for indigenous people's rights and worked as a mediator in armed conflicts throughout South America. In 1999, she founded the organization Ser Paz (Being Peace) specifically to work with youth gangs in Ecuador's... bio page »

Switch to low bandwidth Email to a friend
Download this video
Quicktime | iPod | HD Video
Embed this video

Tanta Claridad. Tanto Amor. Tanta Verdad. Tanto Ejemplo.
Esa sonrisa no la olvidaré facilmente. Tampoco la frase " No hay nada más revolucionario que el Amor"
Gracias, doña Nelsa, a Ud. y a los muchachos y muchachas de su país.

This is my favorite one so far! What an incredible woman. I love her quote: "Nothing is more revolutionary than love." We really need more people like Nelsa working with the youth in America and all around the world.

Nelsa me ayudó a mirar el mundo de otra manera. Su lectura acerca de los jovenes y el mundo que los adultos le hemos legado tiene la claridad y sencillez de las cosas que siempre han estado allí pero que nunca vemos... Gracias Nelsa por tanto Amor! Gracias por mostrarme que puedo hacer algo y que tengo todo lo que necesito para hacerlo.

how funny that both maggymac and Julia Ardon quoted the same line of Nelsa's. The world truly is one. I just hope that this wave of idas and progess is really, actually starting to swell.

There is a massive problem in the UK with youth crime, stabbings etc. The general feeling I get here from the newspapers and public is a growing negative attitude towards the youth in the society which in turn creates an even bigger rift. What Nelsa is saying is so true. We need to find a way where children can grow up in an environment which is healthy and loving. A child that is given love and attention and is nurtured correctly always grows up into a well-balanced human being. The difficulty lies in the fact that the breakdown of the family unit is an ever increasing fact of life in this society and you'll find that countries where this is happening have the biggest problems with their youth.

Sign in or become a member to add a comment

ORGANIZE
A FILM SCREENING

Engage your community using a selection of our short films.

Film Library Volumes One & Two now available on DVD. Learn More

Dialogues

Want to engage with others in the spirit of discovery?

Visit Dialogues to share ideas about the values, issues and perceptions that characterize this age of transformation.